Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1066247
Consumer Electronics Daily News 1 3 Wednesday, January 9, 2019 Roadway Safety The NHTSA reported that there were 37,133 traffic fatalities in 2017; of those reported, 8.5 percent of those are classi- fied as "distraction-affected." However, Heidi King of the NHTSA said the true number is probably higher. The reality is that on today's roadways, drivers and pedestrians are more and more distracted. Factors such as connected devices, social media, streaming media and entertain- ment options make it easier, day by day. Everyone is constantly on their phone sending messages, chatting and seeing what everyone is doing instead of focus- ing on the task at hand. Piloting a two-ton block of steel down the road at 75mph has become trivial in most people's eyes. However, the truth couldn't be further from that. There is more congestion, more inexperienced drivers, more foreign drivers and higher average travel speeds all contributing to the more difficult driv- ing experience. So does that mean that we ourselves are the reason that we have more acci- dents? Does that mean that we should also be charged with the responsibility to reduce the number of accidents on the roadways? Although the final figures aren't released yet, the first half of 2018 did result in a reduction of fatalities by 3.1 percent. This is a positive move, as 2017 was one of the worst years on record in the last decade. But what else can we do? Technology seems to be the root of the problem – perhaps it can also be our savior as well. Just as much as there are products to distract us, there are also products to help us when we are distracted. Diwa Nien, a Sales Representative for CUB, a radar safety product manufacturer, said, "It's our responsibility to be safe drivers, but accidents happen. There is technol- ogy to help us be more careful and aware of our surroundings." CUB has a lineup of consumer safety products that are easy to install and use. CUB showcases several Blind Spot Detection (BSD) systems that are avail- able for nearly any type of vehicle. The CUB booth is in the North Hall #3125 and is showcasing a new Integrated Tail Lamp BSD system. It's an amazing way to add a blind spot system in under an hour. The kit includes replacement tail lamps that already have sensors mounted inside of them. The kit is plug and play and is incredibly easy to install – a typical DIY handy person could certainly do it with common tools. There is also a Universal Blind Spot Detection System which can be used on nearly any vehicle with a plastic bumper and integrates seam- lessly. CUB even offers BSD systems for RVs, both motorhomes and trailers, and the trailer system is the first of its kind. The CUB RV BSD system is ideal, since anyone who has driven or towed knows exactly how difficult it is to make lane changes with such a long vehicle. The CUB product lineup gets the job done. Visit CUB at booth #3125 in the North Hall. For more information on products, email adasinfo@cubelec.com.tw. Customizable Touchscreen Display Who's in charge? You! That's right, Kenwood is introducing a new user cus- tomization feature, touted as the "cus- tomizable multi-widget," to six of its new Kenwood and Kenwood eXcelon line of multimedia receivers. Now, the choice is yours! Widgets were first introduced in 2016 to Kenwood's "S" series of multi- media receivers, allowing for user selec- table displays on the home screen, such as a clock/date, visual EQ, compass and more, with enhancements added each year since. What's interesting about many of these widgets is that you can touch the widget to be taken to the corre- sponding screen's settings or function (visual EQ will display the actual EQ adjustment menu, compass will display the Garmin navigation map on DNX models, etc.). On DNX Garmin naviga- tion models, the compass will actually morph into turn-by-turn lane guidance during an active route. Users can now choose exactly what they want displayed on their Kenwood multimedia home screen. Your choice of four widget panels can be displayed on the Home screen. You can save different multi-widget pages to display exactly what you want, when you want. Depending on the model, widget options can include album art of a current song, clock, compass, photo frame, visual EQ, weather, turn- by-turn Garmin nav- igation and more. When adding in an optional iDatalink Maestro radio replacement interface, additional widget options can include cli- mate controls, radar detector informa- tion, tire pressure monitoring systems and more. Further user customizations have also been added to these receivers, including the ability to change the text size, allowing for more artist/title/song information to be displayed if desired. New wallpaper selec- tions are also available, displaying in the back- ground on select sources. Specific widget functions do vary by model, as well as with the attached optional iDatalink Maestro radio replacement interfaces. Supported receivers include the Kenwood eXcelon DNX996XR, DDX9906XR, DDX8906S, DMX906S (mechless), as well as the Kenwood DDX8706S and DMX9706S (mech- less). For more information, stop by booth #4602 in the North Hall. The Coral One: 'It Doesn't Suck to Suck' By George Ko, Chief Creative Officer, Coral Robots are cool. One day, they could be your best friend. But let's face it. A dog will always be better than a bucket of bolts. So what are robots good for? Well, they can help with the things you dislike doing, like cleaning. At Coral, we design purpose-driven robots that help empower the everyday lives of people. As a human-centric robotics company, we make robots that help you with those boring, routine chores. We thoughtfully design each robot for the way you actually clean and maintain your home. Today, when you buy a robot vacu- um, it may not be what you expected. Sometimes it cleans your floors. Sometimes it fights with shoes – and loses. That's why we launched the Coral One. It's the only 2-in-1 vacuum robot on the market that brings the first true inno- vation to the category in years. Equipped with a handheld component and nozzle accessories, it delivers cleaning power that extends beyond the floor. Consumers can clean a wide variety of surfaces, from the creases of their sofa to their curtains and countertops. Pull out the handheld and it becomes a powerful cyclonic dust magnet. Put it back in and it becomes a smart vacuum robot. The vacuum robot navigates each space it cleans using an internal com- puter that maps out the floor plan. Sensors enable it to determine the most efficient cleaning path by preventing it from bumping into objects. Cyclonic technology and high-power fans ensure the most powerful suction, and the cus- tom-built wheels and modules guarantee the Coral One can easily climb over any uneven surfaces. It's thoughtfully designed for the way you actually clean and maintain your home. Visit South Hall 2 booth #26900. Oh, we're this year's CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for Robotics too. For more information, visit www.coral robots.com, call 323.813.5726, email info@coralrobots.com or stop by South Hall 2 booth #26900. GSMA and Ericsson Host Cellular IoT Event for Developers With 77 commercial networks in 40 mar- kets around the world, over 120 modules and development kits currently available and more than 2,000 members actively participating in the official industry com- munity (GSMA, November 2018) – cel- lular IoT technologies are ready to go mainstream. As a low-cost solution that provides long battery life and extended indoors and outdoors coverage, cellular IoT tech- nologies, specifically LTE-M and NB- IoT, have firmly established themselves as the prerequisite technologies in the IoT market since being standardised by 3GPP in June 2016. With networks, tariffs, modules and developer toolkits readily available, all that's required is innovative product and solution developers to create the next generation of consumer devices. Join the GSMA Cellular IoT devel- oper event and interactive showcase, sup- ported by Ericsson, to learn about the potential and technical capabilities of cellular IoT, including: business potential and forecasts; use cases and mapping to technology; ecosystem update and readi- ness; cellular IoT in 5G; and, app development con- siderations: power con- sumption, power saving – RAN features, energy uti- lization measurement tools, IoT device network on-boarding. In this interactive showcase, attendees have the opportunity to learn more about the technical capabilities and available developer frameworks. Experts from across the IoT value chain are available for in-depth conversations from mobile operators, module vendors, development kit manu- facturers, infrastructure and chipset com- panies. The showcase also includes the Ericsson IoT Accelerator, an IoT device connectivity and app development platform; as well as the GSMA Mobile IoT Innovators, the official industry community for cellular IoT technologies, as well as available IoT platforms, development kits, modules and chipsets from companies in the mobile industry. The event takes place today, Wednesday, 9 January 2019, 1-5pm, at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Lotus Ballroom 1 & 2. To find out more about the event, visit www.gsma.com/ces-dev.