Moving from Entertainment to Wellness

A shift in tech applications at the annual Consumer Electronics Show saw technologies previously developed for home entertainment being adapted for future wellness programs in the home.

By Ed Wenck (Content Director, CEDIA)

Every January, Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), becomes the center of the tech universe: Small startups and established behemoths alike converge at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show), and CEDIA sends its experts to see the latest gadgetry.

But the CEDIA Tech Council (a group of staffers and volunteers tasked with identifying trends that impact residential tech) is looking for more than just cool devices. They’re looking for ideas that can be customized for home integrations.

Today’s fun gadget. Tomorrow’s vital technology.

Gordon van Zuiden of cyberManor (Los Gatos, CA) was struck by a device that could read and react to where a person’s eyes looked at an interactive screen. The demo he saw featured a video game in which van Zuiden could “shoot” ducks out of the sky by simply looking at them – but he saw the applications beyond entertainment immediately. “If a software developer, instead of shooting ducks, would create the control for a user interface, and I could just look at the kitchen, and then lighting control, and then turn on lights, or music, or heating, and do it just with my eyes. Think about how that opens up options for those with limited mobility to control their home.”

“I’m surprised by how rapidly AR glasses are unfolding,” notes Rich Green of Rich Green Design (Palo Alto, CA). “They’re loaded with sensors and cameras. When you look through them, you’re currently seeing mostly animated fun things, like creatures floating around in front of you. Eventually, what we’ll see is a superimposition of a digital twin world on real reality, and that’s when things get really interesting.” Think about a heads-up display that could guide a pedestrian safely through a city, for example.

Mike Maniscalco (Pytheas, Austin, TX) was especially impressed by the accuracy and sensitivity of the next generation of motion sensors. “We have the technology now where we can monitor a loved one with non-invasive systems — we know when Grandma is getting up in the night without using a camera or what have you.”

“There’s a shift happening,” notes Maniscalco. “Tech is moving away from just addressing people’s wants to creating solutions for people’s needs.”

This article was written by CEDIA’s Content Director Ed Wenck to be shared with Integrate’s audience. If you would like to read more about CEDIA’s take outs from CES or more articles by Ed and the CEDIA team, please click here.