Siemens, Mitsubishi, RoboSense, and Shift Robotics | Latest Technology at CES 2024

The consumer electronics show, CES 2024, was a powerful, electrifying incubator for innovation, bringing together key players in the consumer technology realm, from customers to developers, manufacturers, and innovators. The global tech event recently took place at the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center in Nevada, between January 9-12.

CES endeavors to spark further progress to meet consumer demand and evolve society by bringing together like-minded and progressive individuals in an interactive space of tech demos, talks, power sessions, conferences, and question/answer sessions. The key innovation driver at this year’s CES—not surprisingly—was artificial intelligence (AI). Although the event captures the latest snapshot in the consumer world, many industrial technologies rise to the surface in this well-attended and electric event.

 

Dr. Busch gets animated on stage at CES, enlivening the audience with the potential and power of industrial metaverse enablers: data and AI, digital twin technology, and software-defined automation. Image used courtesy of CES

 

Transforming Industries and Promoting a Healthy Economy

The activities of technology giant Siemens AG support this notion of societal evolution. Behind this growth as a society are digital technologies, ones which Siemens set out to highlight for CES 2024 event attendees in a keynote speech delivered by Dr. Roland Busch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens. Dr. Busch provided a word for a way of accelerating innovation and sustainability, the industrial metaverse, and coupled with AI, it “will redefine reality and transform the every day for everyone.”

Combining human knowledge and AI to create a virtual world/digital twin allows for the simulation of industrial environments, processes, and products, to plan and fine-tune designs before real-world construction and implementation. Everyone can contribute to design creativity and production. Dr. Busch informed CES attendees of the construction of Siemens's factories of the future using digital twin technology. Manufacturing capacity went up by 200%, productivity increased by 20%, and energy consumption went down by 20%. According to Dr. Busch, critical building blocks of the industrial metaverse include digital twin technology, data and AI, and software-defined automation.

 

The Latest in LiDAR Technology

RoboSense unveiled the latest developments concerning its M Platform line of sensors at the Las Vegas Convention Center, West Hall, Booth #5172. CES event attendees were privy to RoboSene’s solid-state light detection and ranging (LiDAR) automotive grade sensor, the M1, and its proprietary chip technology, E1. The M1 sensor is the first of its kind in mass production. Along with the M1 Plus, the M1 is used by original equipment manufacturers for autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance (ADAS). The chip tech allows for the detection of blind spots by robots and vehicles, which helps with safer navigation.

The latest mechanical LiDAR innovations encompass the Ruby Plus, a 128-beam sensor optimized for level 4 autonomous vehicle commercial use, and the BPearl, featuring an exceptionally wide field for accurate short-range blind spot detection. The Helios series, inclusive of 16- and 32-beam LiDAR sensors, offers adaptability for various applications, including robotics, intelligent vehicles, and V2X communication. Additionally, cutting-edge software solutions like HyperVison integrate RoboSense sensors and software, presenting a comprehensive system for in-depth data analytics that facilitates informed decision-making, contributing to the development of safer and more efficient solutions. These hardware and software offerings were some of the highlight technologies that RoboSense to CES 2024.

 

Walk? Why not Moonwalk While You Work?

Shift Robotics aims to take the load off and make working hard on your feet all day in warehouses and logistics centers more fun with the latest iteration of its Moonwalkers robotic shoes. What’s key here? You guessed it: AI. The Moonwalkers leverage AI to measure a person’s step 100 times per second.

 

See the Moonwalkers in action, aiding worker productivity and promoting improved worker satisfaction. Video used courtesy of Shift Robotics

 

Shift Robotics' Moonwalkers robotic shoes allow users to move at speeds threefold their usual pace while adopting a heel-toe motion. Customers in corporate and commercial settings have seen productivity boosts of twofold more, particularly for employees who walk for extended periods, averaging up to 30,000 steps per day. Interestingly, after a month of Moonwalkers testing, a warehouse in Jacksonville, Florida, reported a twofold increase in productivity. The customer also reported an ROI payback period of under one month per pair for one company and a global retailer saving over 360 hours annually per employee in a mid-sized store in Scandinavia.

Needless to say, moonwalking while working in a warehouse environment seems like a great way to work. Happy feet make light the work.

 

Mitsubishi’s Vision of Transformation

At Mitsubishi Electric Group’s booth at CES, attendees experienced interactive displays, live presentations, demonstrations, and videos covering the global leader’s latest technologies. The group intends to morph into a “Circular-Digital-Engineering” company, using its sustainability-focused businesses to address social challenges: "inclusion," "carbon neutral," "circular economy," "well-being," and "safety/security." As to how these global leaders intend to manifest those trendy words and phrases? The future remains to be seen!

 

If you’d like to learn more about some of the other innovative consumer electronics tech exhibited at CES 2024, you can visit the event website.

 

Featured image used courtesy of CES