CES 2022 Showcases Practical AI Innovations Despite Major Company Pullouts
CES 2022 highlights a wave of practical AI applications in vehicles, delivery robots, and accessibility devices, even as major tech companies cancel their in-person attendance due to COVID-19.
Despite major tech companies canceling their in-person attendance due to COVID-19 surges, CES 2022 remains a crucial showcase for practical AI innovations in consumer products. The event highlights how machine intelligence integrates into everyday devices, from autonomous vehicles to compact smart gadgets, proving that technological advancement continues even without the presence of industry giants like Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
The automotive sector leads the charge with significant AI developments, including efforts to consolidate vehicle computing and establish common operating systems. Companies introduce autonomous driving retrofit kits that prioritize practical, deterministic software over experimental AI, alongside smart driver-facing cameras that detect fatigue and distraction. These innovations focus on immediate, real-world safety applications rather than distant, theoretical capabilities.
Beyond the automotive realm, exhibitors demonstrate AI's expanding role in accessibility and compact electronics. Innovations include delivery robots designed for airports and curbside pickup, software frameworks that enable deep neural networks to run on power-constrained devices, and groundbreaking visual aids for the impaired. One notable device uses computer vision to read full pages of text instantly, while an advanced hearing aid utilizes visual lip-reading cues to isolate and amplify specific voices in crowded environments.