Smart home devices and appliances have had increasing presence at CES over the last few years. Last CES, Amazon Alexa swept aside every other smart home solution to win the convention. With 33 device integration partnerships, it left Google Home (10 device integration partnerships) and Apple’s HomeKit (18 device integration partnerships) in dust. We also saw a no. of robots for a supposedly smarter home demoed. This year too, the convention is guaranteed to present more innovation in this space.
Voice Assistants
No new AI platforms are expected to be announced other than the existing three Alexa, HomeKit and the Google Assistant , though we could be in for a surprise. A plausible prediction is to see the repeat of CES 2017, announcement of new and existing smart home products with addition of HomeKit, Alexa and Google Home functionality. Although this year, it won’t totally be an Alexa show with Google Home and Apple HomeKit announcing more device integration partnerships. Apple’s HomePod smart speaker might definitely have skipped the holiday season for 2017, but it’s too big of a name to stop third party device makers from supporting Siri.
Beauty and Fashion Products
It’s the most recent development, the rise in smart beauty and fashion devices. Based on whether you spend your day under natural or fluorescent light smart mirrors manufactured by Simplehuman help you optimize your look accordingly.
Kerastase Hair Coach, a smart hairbrush was displayed at CES 2017. It would collect data from your scalp with the help of sensors and suggest appropriate care advice. MAC makeup stores are introducing AR mirrors where you can basically try any product without actually applying them on your face. Amazon’s own Echo Look camera can give you fashion advice based on your outfit and even suggest you what to wear! A new update even allows you ask for fashion advice from strangers. Expect product in these categories at CES 2018.
Robots
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Robots featured primarily at CES 2017, though they have been in most cases pretty hit-or-miss. Jibo isn’t much capable functionally apart from walking or doing a wiggle head dance. Others, like Kuri by Mayfield Robotics, claim facial recognition and can move around though that is yet to be tested.
And this CES there will be more robots shown, but this year could bring out more “practical” examples, for instance, Keecker “homebot” which focuses on entertainment functionality, or the Cutii home support robot created to assist seniors. It would be exciting see what CES 2018 brings for smart homebots.
Facial Recognition
Face scanning has been there now for quite some time now. Now with the recent launch of Apple iPhone X and its FaceID function it’s soon going to be a norm. We saw a rudimentary version of it in Microsoft’s Kinect (which Microsoft just recently stopped making) and a better version on Netatmo Welcome security camera. In addition to these many other consumer products are also integrating Face-scanning technology like Nest’s IQ cameras and its Hello doorbell.
There is also a surge in the number of home security cameras supporting “person alerts.” The feature doesn’t actually identify a person but it can actually differentiate between a human and a pet and even notify you. Expect more manufacturers to adopt the facial recognition feature at CES 2018.
Smart Appliances
Not much innovation is expected I this space, apart from more integration with voice assistants. Smart voice assistant integrated Fridges, dishwashers and other large appliances have existed for a while, though only few could actually introduce convenience in kitchen. But the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show is clashing with the schedule of CES 2018, so we may see appliance coverage from both. Hopefully, we’ll see a smart appliance or two.