Deducing the top trends at a massive trade show like CES is more art than science. I’ve been doing it for 15 years and have generally followed the same process: Collect as much information as possible under embargo in advance of the show, limit show meetings to breaking news and relationship-building, and try to read everything the PCMag team publishes. There s also a longstanding tradition of asking every other journalist I meet if they ve seen anything “cool.” After all, there s an infinite amount to cover, and scoops age quickly under the omnipresent glare of 24/7 media.
This year, of course, things were different. There were no flights to Vegas or overpriced hotel rooms. There were no endless lines to get into press conferences or a tightly thronged show floor. (Wheelie bags? Seriously people?!) There were no vendor dinners where makers, marketers, technologists, and spin doctors could share a meal and seek common interests. And there was no collegial collaboration among
CES delivers some real winners each year, but it also has a rich history as a breeding ground for weird technologies.
In years past, the show has yielded peculiarities such as cell phone radiation-blocking underwear, a waistline-monitoring smart belt, and a vending machine for fresh loaves of bread. It s hard to forget Charmin s 2020 RollBot, a robot that can bring you a spare roll of toilet paper when you run out (strangely foreshadowing the great TP shortage that came just months later).
Despite being all-digital this year due to the coronavirus, CES 2021 offered no shortage of oddities. On the list of strange new innovations is a poop-analyzing toilet that offers dietary advice, smart perfume you can customize from an app, and a headless robotic pet meant to soothe your angst. And it only gets weirder from there.
General Motors has inched slightly closer to fulfilling its quest to put the world in flying cars.
As part of the 2021 virtual Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday, GM showed renderings and animation of what it dubbed its Cadillac Halo concepts: the Cadillac Personal Autonomous Vehicle, which is like a fancy self-driving taxi, and Cadillac Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) vehicle, a sleek and futuristic drone-like flying car. The VTOL is GM’s first foray into air travel,” said Michael Simcoe, GM’s vice president of global design. Advances in electric vehicles and other technology are now making personal air travel possible, he said.
General Motors Showing Off Flying Car Concept
When I think of the possibility of flying cars, I think of the classic movie back in the 80s called Back to the Future. Do you remember the flying time machine called Delorean?
Even though that was all special effects, it was fun to watch on the big screen back in the 80s.
So here we are in 2021 and General Motors has inched slightly closer to fulfilling its quest to put the world in flying cars.
According to the Detroit Free Press, as part of the 2021 virtual Consumer Electronic Show, GM showed renderings and animation of what it dubbed its Cadillac Halo concepts.