Key AI highlights from CES 2024

From AI-powered personal devices to housekeeping robots, from pet health monitors to devices promoting accessibility, CES 2024 unveiled a range of new AI innovations.

But before we move ahead, what is CES?

Each January, the industry collectively puts together a show of innovations that set the stage for the year to come. The 2024 edition of the event officially opened on Tuesday, January 9th, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and, for the first time, featured an AI category in its total 29 product categories.

Here’s an overview of some of the noteworthy innovations in AI announced by key players such as NVIDIA and Samsung and newly emerging startups like Rabbit.

AI-powered personal devices enter the scene: meet R1, the device that sold 10,000 units in one day.

Rabbit R1, a pocket-sized AI assistant by tech startup Rabbit, sold 20,000 units and is now on its third batch for pre-orders.

Operating on Rabbit OS and utilizing a 'Large Action Model' (LAM) AI, it simplifies tasks, negating the need to constantly use your phone.

With the press of a button and a voice command, R1 handles various tasks, adapting to users through a "teaching mode" for personalized automation. It can find you nearby coffee shops, book an Uber, order pizza, or plan a trip itinerary for your family.

Heading out for the day? AI can take care of your home (and pets!)

LG's "Rosie" is a small two-legged robot that connects with LG's smart home appliances and recognizes users. It goes beyond typical smart hubs by patrolling for open windows, sending alerts, and serving as a pet monitor.

Make work from home a breeze with Samsung’s ‘Ballie,’ a spherical home robot that was initially revealed in 2020 and reappeared with AI capabilities. Ballie activates smart lights, controls "non-smart" devices, and maps floor plans with user instructions through voice or text commands.

Samsung also introduced the Bespoke Jet Bot Combo, a smart vacuum, and mop that uses AI object recognition to detect and clean stains on hard floors.

You can now monitor your ‘home health’ with Ultrahuman’s 'Home,' which monitors air quality, noise, humidity, and smoke in its surroundings. It provides actionable insights on these factors in the form of ‘scores’ and can offer advice.

Do you have pets, making it difficult to leave the house for small errands? Invoxia unveils Minitailz Smart Pet Tracker, which functions as a GPS tracker and wellness device for your pets, measuring respiratory rate and heart vitals through biometric sensors and AI. It features a built-in SIM card and can distinguish various movements (such as walks and ‘zoomies’), notifying you if your pets stray beyond your set geofences.

Amazon also announced enhancements to Alexa with a Gen AI model, allowing for a more opinionated personality. It adjusts its tone to convey emotions and introduces AI-powered experiences by Character.AI for real-time conversations, Splash for creating downloadable songs, and Volley for a generative AI-powered '20 Questions' game, available in the Amazon Alexa Skill Store.

Transformers might have been aliens, but AI can bring your car to “life.”

Mercedes introduces a Gen AI-powered virtual assistant, enhancing the connection between car and driver through natural conversation. Embodied with personality traits like natural, predictive, personal, and empathetic, the assistant engages with an emotionally nuanced voice, aiming to evoke empathy.

This virtual assistant adapts to your needs, integrating into your routine by playing the morning news or directly joining a meeting if you're running late based on your calendar.

Mercedes-AMG has also introduced an "interactive musical experience" named MBUX Sound Drive, developed in collaboration with Will.i.am. The AI-driven system remixes your music, enhancing it during acceleration and reducing it to a background sound during deceleration. This creates a personalized, real-time soundtrack for your drive, even responding to external factors such as incorporating calming sounds during turbulent weather.

Meanwhile, BMW previewed a new in-car voice assistant, which is powered by Amazon’s Alexa. Apart from being able to adjust climate control, stream music, and add events to your calendar, this assistant will be capable of providing “quick instructions and answers about vehicle functions in a conversation-like manner.”

AI simplifies shopping with Walmart's latest features

Walmart enhances the shopping experience with generative AI search, enabling contextual searches. For example, if you give it a prompt saying 'planning a pink-themed birthday party,' it will provide detailed recommendations with reviews, images, and prices.

Walmart also presented an AI shopping assistant for personalized product suggestions and real-time user inquiries during shopping.

Sam's Club – a Walmart subsidiary – introduced computer vision tech that aims to resolve customers having to wait in line to get their receipts verified. The pilot, currently in use in 10 locations, will reduce the need for manual receipt checks. The technology captures images of customer carts and uses AI to accelerate the matching of items to sales.

The future is inclusive, and AI can help us build it

Esper Bionics unveils a bionic hand that gathers data from 24 sensors, analyzing the movement of 20 forearm muscles. Overtime, it adapts through ML, tailoring itself to each user by understanding usage patterns and updating control algorithms based on preferences. The hand becomes intuitive, predicting frequently repeated motions and prioritizing the user's preferred grip in familiar scenarios.

Whispp's latest AI feature empowers those with speech disorders, offering a voice where words may be challenging. The 2023-introduced AI model by Whispp transforms whispers into clear speech, enabling users to recreate their voices with audio recordings. The technology now accommodates a broader range of voice types and conditions, ensuring clear communication, even in noisy environments.

As they say, “Health is wealth”! Talking about well-being is crucial when discussing innovation

L’Oréal launched Beauty Genius, a virtual 'beauty advisor' aiding users in making personalized beauty choices. The AI chatbot navigates sensitive topics like acne, dandruff, or hair loss, offering tailored advice based on factors such as skin tone. Trained on a diverse dataset of 6,000+ images and tested globally by makeup artists on over 10,000 products, it is safeguarded by 10+ patents. For skin diagnosis, their algorithms received training input from over 180,000 dermatologists.

Nowatch unveils a wellness-centric smartwatch designed for minimal distractions. The AI-driven device opts for an unconventional approach by ditching a traditional screen. The watch employs AI to grasp the wearer's biorhythms, sending tailored vibrations for stress management.

Baracoda's BMind smart mirror uses AI and NLP to detect users' emotions through expressions and gestures. It adapts to moods, providing customized self-affirmations and meditation sessions for improved well-being. Equipped with features like an omnidirectional mic and Face ID, the mirror operates on the CareOS platform.

Lastly, entertainment is a core experience of our existence

NVIDIA is upping the gaming experience with the AI-powered GeForce RTX 40 Super series. Through unique NPC (non-playable characters) reactions via the ACE AI feature, it enhances 14 games, such as Horizon Forbidden West and Diablo IV. Plus, NVIDIA deepens its partnership with Getty Images, introducing Generative AI by iStock, a text-to-image platform.

MSI brings AI upgrades to its Stealth, Raider, Cyborg, and Titan models. These laptops boast upgraded chips infused with AI for smarter performance, featuring DLSS 3.5 and the new AI Engine. This engine transitions between preset profiles for gaming, work, and entertainment, with on-screen visuals indicating the selected profile.

CES 2024: AI is transforming every sector!

CES 2024 unveiled an amazing lineup of products spanning various sectors, featuring everything from smart mirrors to advanced gaming laptops.

With AI taking center stage last year, CES 2024 reflected this trend. The event showcased numerous innovations centered around AI, hinting at it as a recurring theme for future events.

Data and AI continue to help improve the quality of life, but there is still much room for improvement. As AI begins to scale across organizations, it will be exciting to see what 2024 has in store for us.