#CES2016DW. Digital Wallonia at CES 2016 in Las Vegas

Within the context of the fact-finding mission for Walloon businesses at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Digital Wallonia offers targeted support on the themes of the Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality, Smart Cities and the Smart Home

Article produced in collaboration with Infohightech.

Smart Homes and Smart Cities are at the heart of the issue of users and towns that need to manage energy and the associated new services in homes and businesses. CES showed off all sorts of different solutions for better ways to manage where we live. But very few companies presented solutions connected to smart cities.

Just like Cloud Computing, the French company Engie (formerly GDF-Suez), in partnership with the American company ASM (Advanced Microgrid Solutions), presented its solution, called Hybrid-Electric Buildings. It is a system of batteries in targeted buildings for which energy suppliers need an alternative to the electricity network. AMS migrates the power supply for an entire fleet of buildings to batteries in order to relieve the electricity network. And the building owners are remunerated for this scheme. According to AMS, energy suppliers may benefit from a reduction in the costs of this energy and greater reliability by reducing peaks in demand for electricity by up to 25%.

For its part, Engie Cofely has launched a partnership with Partnering Robotics, a French start-up that has created the Diya One, an interactive robot inspired by neurons, which optimises the environment inside buildings in terms of air quality and managing energy. It learns and interacts with its environment and offers a whole range of services for office buildings, like air purification, automated lighting and temperature management using presence detection, and programmed optimisation of energy consumption.

In the field of Smart Homes and Smart Cities, the French company Qarnot represents the symbiosis between these 2 worlds. It has actually created computers, Q.Rads, whose 3 motherboards can be used as a source of heat. This means that you can heat homes using the warmth produced by these motherboards in radiators connected by fibre optic cables to businesses that subcontract the processing power. A number of social housing units in Paris are benefiting from this system, and the city of Bordeaux in France seems very interested. As well as this, a range of services has been added to the product, which can heat between 150 and 300m2.

A large number of sensors are currently available (temperature, CO2, humidity, noise, pressure etc.). There are WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, USB and EnOcean communication solutions to automate the home, not forgetting wireless Qi charging, movement detectors and much more. An excellent product that we should keep an eye on, and one that Nordic countries are gradually adopting. The only question to be asked is what happens during the summer? Qarnot’s response is, in this case, to reduce use to just one motherboard in the Q.Rad and also to reduce its frequency.

We are finishing off this latest round-up with a bit of science fiction, thanks to the FURo-i Home robot, produced by South-Korean company FutureRobot. It offers a number of services in the home by checking all the devices and manages security, medical monitoring, entertainment and telepresence via a tablet connected to a wireless communication system such as a Wi-Fi gateway device. On the company’s stand, the robot was even connected to IBM’s Watson.

While virtual reality is creating quite a buzz at the moment, it has to be said that its “cousin”, augmented reality, is holding its own and attracting many investors such as Google, Microsoft, 21st Century Fox, Facebook, HTC and Sony to name but a few. And the most interesting thing, according to Tim Merel, managing director of Digi-Capital, a consultancy firm specialising in this field, the virtual reality and augmented reality industry will generate a turnover of 30 billion dollars by 2020.

For example, on 8 January 2016, Google announced an agreement with Lenovo for a smartphone equipped with 3D augmented reality, which goes by the name of Project Tango.

At CES 2016, a number of other products caught the eye of the public. Among these, the company HumanEyes Technologies presented Vuze, the 1st 3D VR camera in the world for the general public with 360° vision. It is connected to dedicated software designed to create immersive content for as many people as possible. The device combines 2D and 3D capture technologies thanks to 8 full HD cameras in an easy to use point and shoot format. It can be used like a selfie stick, and you can record up to 1 hour of video. The Vuze is controlled with an iOS or Android app. Price: 899 dollars.

Osterhout a company invested in by 21st Century Fox, introduced its R7 glasses at the not insignificant price of 2,750 dollars. Aimed at business customers, this product is one of the most powerful on the market. It works with the Snapdragon 805 processor from Qualcomm with the personalised operating system, ReticleOS. It is packed with sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, altitude, humidity). Its transparent stereoscopic screens display information in 16/9 and 720p. The quality of the images visible in the user’s field of vision is very impressive.

Let’s move away from the business world and into the world of entertainment, with the Omni from Virtuix. This is a physical platform for active virtual reality which makes natural 360° movement possible in games and apps in this environment. Users stand up, harnessed by straps on a platform supported by 3 arched arms. And the player, wearing any kind of VR headset (Rift, Vive, Gear VR, Cardboard), walks on a low-friction concave surface, the product of 4 years of research. Available for 699 dollars, you can play any PC or mobile game that needs a handset.

You can already imagine this kind of product in gyms, training centres or even at home, to play with or get fit.

Lastly, the Swedish company Tobii**, known for its eye tracking technology, took the opportunity at CES to introduce the integration of its technology in MIS laptop computers, which should be available soon.** The solution is combined with games from Ubisoft, a partner of the project. The integration of this technology gives players more realistic, immersive experiences. It also avoids the need for people with claustrophobia to wear a headset and eliminates the nausea often associated with the use of virtual reality.

CES is the showcase for our future digital life: virtual reality, drones, modular products, e-health and much more.

Let’s start this quick overview with a surprising solution for avoiding traffic jams in towns. No, it isn’t a self-driving car, but a drone/helicopter for one person, the 184 AAV made by Chinese manufacturer Ehang. It is due to be available in the USA this year for between 200,000 and 300,000 dollars. 100% electric, equipped with 4 pairs of propellers at the end of its arms and weighing 200kg, it will be able to carry a maximum load of 100kg and fly for 23 minutes at a recommended height of between 300 and 500 metres.

While this seems much too low for professional use, the manufacturer assures us that there is no need for training to fly it, and that it is currently negotiating with the American authorities to approve it. The most surprising thing is that the 184 AA almost flies itself. After setting the flight plan, the passenger only needs 2 commands: take off and landing.

So the world of drones is flourishing. According to the CTA (Consumer Technology Association), 2 million drone flights will take place between now and 2020, creating more than 100,000 jobs in the next 10 years. This market shows real potential thanks to services such as deliveries, surveillance and agriculture. Drones are also becoming lighter.

The best example is the Micro Drone 3.0 from the UK-based company Extremefliers. It weighs 55 grams, flies at a speed of 70km/h at a height of over 150 metres. It boasts smart sensors that keep its HD 720p camera in position for perfect images. And to control it, all you need is a Smartphone app.

We would also like to mention the Walloon company Fleye, whose drone has already attracted a great deal of attention.

Modularity is an important concept at the moment. So the company Nexpaq offers users the chance to improve their Smartphone’s capacities really easily, by slipping it into a new case. It is equipped with a 1000 mAh battery, which can increase the life of the Smartphone’s battery by between 30 and 60 minutes (depending on the handset and modules installed), and six slots for add-ons. There are currently 12 different modules available, which users can use to install an amplified speaker, an LED torch, a laser pointer, a breathalyser, additional battery packs and keyboard shortcuts that can be assigned to different Smartphone functions.

There are also a few storage options available: an SD card reader, a USB drive reader and a 64GB storage module. Last but not least, a number of sensors can also be added: to measure air quality, temperature or humidity.

It is also worth mentioning the modular smart watch from the UK-based company Blocks, based on modules. A very interesting concept for a world increasingly focused on product durability.

As far as software is concerned, for anyone keen to get into the world of virtual reality, Israeli company Lumus presented its development kit, DK-50, to create apps combining reality with the virtual world immediately.

The kit contains a headset with two stereo cameras and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) so that app developers can have access to the map and real-time monitoring. The headset doesn’t just project superimposed images on to the user’s field of vision: it also offers a wide field of vision using transparency (40 degrees), and binocular, high resolution vision. An SDK with an Android app lets you transform any Smartphone into a remote control, set up a mouse-like interface and develop apps for smart glasses.

On the first day of CES Las Vegas, the IoT (Internet of Things) was the star of the show on many stands. However, one aspect of the IoT seems to stay in the shadows: security. Few solutions specifically connected to the security of this Internet of Things are available. Only one company really talked about the subject: American firm PFP Cybersecurity. Its next-generation solution, called P3Scan, uses sensors that work with AC or DC and detect electromagnetic interference.

PFP Cybersecurity provides a security solution for terminals based on the next-generation physics of AC, DC and EMI sensors. By using IoT monitors, automatic learning and data analysis, PFP detects the tiniest anomalies in the electricity consumption of devices. Such anomalies may correspond to an attack from a hacker. This means that users are alerted as soon as possible. The main benefit is that it can apply to monitoring computers, baby monitors, commercial airplanes etc.

For some time now, people have been talking more about IFTTT (If This Then That), in other words a way of automating tasks on the Internet, by connecting different channels commonly used online. It lets you launch an action on one channel depending on a “trigger” defined on another channel. For example: “if a photo is shared on Facebook (If This), then it is saved in Dropbox (Then That)".

Along these lines, a UK-based company presented WiFithing**, a platform for the Internet of Things “without programming”.** It lets “anyone” connect smart objects. It is an Open Source solution that allows anybody to configure simple and complex relationships between smart objects, their home and their professional environment. WiFithing can control any kind of sensor and monitor any electronic device without the need to write a single line of code.

With secure encryption, the solution offers 50 pre-written applications such as for example: turn on the heating in a specific area, open doors or count how many visitors there are in a particular place. Setting up a WiFithing device automatically creates a personalised website for each user, who will just be able to pick up these pre-existing apps and create smart combinations with them.

Lastly, we’d like to talk about Gooee**, a company that has launched a multi-protocol professional gateway that can connect lights and sensors via its Cloud platform.** Developed to incorporate technological features such as an operating system integrated in the Cloud, the gateway supports multiple communication protocols including Zigbee, Bluetooth, Ethernet, WiFi, and serial ports. This means it can offer a maximum number of interoperability options with other services on-site or hosted in the Cloud.

As there is no real Hub for the IoT, or a gateway that might be able to provide the connectivity needed for its lighting ecosystem to achieve its full potential, Gooee has designed its own platform to offer improved reliability, connectivity and interoperability. It is the first operational platform that connects lighting manufacturers to the IoT.