The world’s largest tech trade show, the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), took over the Las Vegas Convention Center last week, with more than 4,000 exhibitors featuring their latest goodies. CES 2020 attracted more than 170,000 attendees, including 61,000 from outside the U.S. Spanning more than 2.9 million net square feet of exhibit space, the 4-day show included a mind-boggling variety of new tech from all industries. Perhaps most ambitious was Toyota’s revealed plans of building a city in the shadow of Mount Fuji in Japan where its scientist and researcher inhabitants can test autonomous vehicles, smart home technology, and the like. Impossible Foods offered attendees two new plant-based meat substitutes: Impossible Pork and Impossible Sausage. Proctor and Gamble showed off their concept robot RollBot, who can bring you toilet paper if you run out at an inopportune time.
The Buzz has scoured the news and reviews of the thousands of products launched at CES 2020 to highlight exciting new tech for RVers and outdoor enthusiasts.
In recent years, CES has become a prerequisite destination for automotive leaders to present their progress in integrating new technology into their vehicles. Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Fisker, and even Sony, came out to reveal their newest models--both concept cars and road-ready vehicles. Sustainability was a focal point for automotive presentations this year, not only in the manufacturing practices but also in the performance of their vehicles.
In addition, dozens of tech companies brought their newest gadgets and technologies designed for the car, including Alexa Integration that can control your vehicle, a virtual visor that solves the timeless issue of sun glare, and a speakerless sound system that uses various surfaces of the car to emit sound.
Mercedes-Benz impressed with a concept car inspired by the 2009 blockbuster film Avatar. The film’s director, James Cameron, was in attendance to help present the car, the Vision Avtr, alongside Daimler Chairman of the Board of Management Ola Kallenius. According to a CES press release, “The car has no doors and 33 movable, multi-directional ‘bionic flaps’ that are meant to look like scales on a reptile.” With seats made of vegan leather, a wooden floor made from hand-harvested timber, and a compostable battery, the car showcased Mercedes-Benz’s sustainability vision for the future.
Daimler Chairman of the Board of Management Ola Kallenius unveils the concept Vision Avtr from Mercedes-Benz at CES 2020 [Image Courtesy CES]
Among other impressive auto tech, Wallbox revealed the world’s first two-way electronic vehicle charger for the home, the Quasar. As the manufacturer explains, the bi-directional EV charger “allows you to feed energy from your car back into your house or directly back into the grid.” This means you could use your car like a battery to run the washer and dryer, or as a power bank, to store battery life for use at home when energy costs are high. Currently, the Quasar is only compatible with CHAdeMO cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander. It will retail for around $4,000.
The number one external battery brand in the U.S., mophie, unveiled their powerstation go, which has the capability to charge any of your devices and also to jumpstart your car. The powerstation go packs a punch with 44,400mWh of power which, along with the included mini jumper cables, will jumpstart a car or SUV. Additionally, it includes two USB-A ports and an AC output port so that it can charge virtually any device you may have with you. It is compact enough to fit into a glove box, and it’s relatively fool-proof for jumpstarting, with its LED flashlight, spark-proof cables, and automated safety checks. It’s available for purchase now at mophie.com for $159.95.
New automotive tech wasn’t the only eye-catching item at CES 2020. For those who enjoy traveling and being outdoors, there are a number of unique products making waves.
Finland-based manufacturer Suunto premiered their Suunto 7 smart watch, with all the features needed for both an excellent sports watch and an everyday smart device. Reviewers say it’s similar to the heftier Suunto 9, but it has a few more bells and whistles. For example, offline outdoor maps allow you to download local maps to the smart watch for use while you’re on the trail, so you can leave your phone at home. Suunto has also improved the ability to read the watch’s screen outdoors with a 1.39-inch, OLED screen which creates high contrast. The watch is waterproof, dirt proof, and shockproof, and has 70 different sports modes. The watch can even show you a heat map of other users in the area, giving you the ability to find the most popular route or the quietest one. Suunto boasts that the watch has 12 hours of battery life in GPS tracking mode, though of course that varies based on personal usage. It runs on Wear OS by Google, so that you’re always connected to Google Play, Google Assistant, and more. The watch will be available in the US at the end of January for $499 and can be preordered online now.
Impress your friends and family with unmatched grilling skills next summer with the Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub. This grilling assistant offers step-by-step help to achieve the desired doneness of any meat. Simply insert the grilling probe into your cut of meat, select the doneness, and grill with ease as you receive smart phone alerts when it’s time to flip the meat and when it’s time to take it off the grill. The hub is compatible with any grill, and is WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled so that it connects seamlessly with your smart phone once you’ve downloaded the accompanying app. It comes with one meat probe, but has the capacity for four. Once available, it will retail at $129.99.
Whether you’re a well-seasoned chef or feel hopeless in the kitchen, the Julia from Cooking Pal can help you accomplish delicious meals. The counter top cooking device has just received a CES 2020 Best of Innovation Award in Home Innovation. With twelve modes that include chopping, kneading, weighing, and whisking, all a user needs to do is put ingredients in when Julia instructs, and Julia takes care of the rest. Julia’s control center is an 8-inch smart display called the Smart Kitchen Hub which can be controlled by using the touch screen, a manual dial, or with voice control. The hub includes a camera which uses AI food recognition capabilities to assess the ingredients you have on hand and suggest a recipe. Self-timers allow Julia to move from one step to the next in a recipe, but if you want to learn alongside her, the Hub includes recipes and step-by-step videos. With a multitude of cooking capabilities, Julia has practical application for an RV kitchen, where space and cooking tools need to be optimized. You can add Julia to your home or mobile kitchen in late 2020 for the retail price of just under $1,000.
The technologies launched at CES 2020 covered a wide range; from addressing age-old tech problems to creating new products that will shape our lives. With exhibitors, investors, and attendees from around the world, CES 2020 has brought us closer to the future. While you may not be buying a car with scales this year, the incredible technology being integrated into everyday products gives us an idea of what our consumer lives may look like tomorrow.
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