Friday, January 1, 2016

GADGETS CES 2016: WHAT TO EXPECT

CES 2016 robot hand promo image
The Earth has just about completed another orbit around the sun, so you know what that means: it's time yet again for CES. The international Consumer Electronics Show, held annually in Las Vegas in January for the past 18 years (and held in various locations before that since it began in New York City in 1967) gathers together tech companies, reporters, advertisers and analysts for one giant sprawling series of events dedicated to showing off thousands of new gadgets. CES 2016 officially runs from Monday, January 4th to Saturday, January 9th.
Aside from transforming Sin City into basically the nerdiest place on Earth for a few days, CES typically offers a mix of cutting-edge tech products that range from exciting and potentially world-changing to completely ridiculous. Sometimes, you see both of these extremes co-existing in the same products. But even in the most fallow of years, CES offers an excellent window at the big new trends in consumer technology that companies hope will be successful in the coming year. Some, like 3D TV or ultrabook laptops, have fallen completely flat. But others, like virtual reality and 4K TV, are steadily making inroads into the real world.
In the case of CES 2016, here's the big tech trends we here at Popular Scienceare expecting to see at the show.

Virtual Reality

For decades, virtual reality has been lauded by scientific researchers and cutting edge technologists. Now, it looks like 2016 will finally be the year that consumers will be able to get their hands on powerful VR headsets.


Experts anticipate that major players in VR like Facebook-owned Oculus andSony-owned Playstation VR will drum up pre-launch buzz at each of their CES booths by demoing some of the most advanced headsets on the planet.
Last year, companies like Oculus and Razer held VR demonstrations in a limited capacity. Oculus was demonstrating one of its developer kits, Crescent Bay, showing off some of the technological breakthroughs like 3D audio. This year, the attention has shifted to the HTC Vive, a headset developed as a co-production between HTC and Valve.
In December, HTC announced that the HTC Vive would not be released to consumers until April 2016, more than four months after it was originally promised. HTC CEO Cher Wang explained the delay by saying that her team had made “a very, very big technological breakthrough.” Most experts expect the company to discuss the breakthrough at CES 2016.

Augmented reality

Minecraft on HoloLens

YouTube / Screenshot
Minecraft on HoloLens
Microsoft Studio's Sax Persson looks over his virtual Minecraft world at Xbox's E3 event.
Augmented reality promises to change our lives by overlaying digital images onto the real world, blending reality with computer graphics. But there are a number of barriers to making that vision come true. Advance AR headsets require powerful processors, displays, sensors, and input devices. They also need to display information on translucent glass, so that the operator can see digital imaging in addition to seeing the surrounding environment. It’s a lot to get right.
Although we may not see any monumental breakthroughs for consumers, CES 2016 is expected to have previews of the next steps in augmented reality. Brands like Sony, Infinity AR, Matter and Form, Voke VR and more will be displaying their latest headsets and proprietary technology ahead of any major releases.
For most experts, CES 2016 will be an opportunity to take a look at how AR has advanced since the unveiling of Google Glass in 2012: Considerations like the size of a headset, battery life, clarity of display graphics, latency when moving, 3D mapping technology, and more will be scoured over by experts.
There’s a slim chance that we’ll see anything that regular people will be able to get their hands on anytime soon, but for those that are interested in the bleeding-edge of technology, CES 2016 will definitely provide that peak into the future.

Driverless cars and electric cars

What would a glimpse into the future be without autonomous vehicles? Now that 2015 is winding down, driverless cars are set to come onto the scene in a big way in the new year. Most notably, many are looking to Faraday Future for a big unveiling. The secretive startup company's automobiles are expected to be fully-electric and, of course, ship with auto-pilot capabilities. But as for what else they could bring, we’ll have to wait until January 4 at 8pm.
Though don’t count out the car companies you grew up with. Appearances from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Hyundai, Mercedes, Toyota and more could bring some interesting features to the car industry in their own right. Chevy andVolkswagen are expected to unveil new electric automobiles. And Ford might be looking to unveil its Google-powered self-driving cars. We’ll know for sure once the Consumer Electronics Show officially starts.

Drones

Amazon
Amazon's New Hybrid Drone Takes Flight
Amazon revealed an all-new designed for its fleet of proposed delivery drones in a video posted to YouTube on November 29, 2015. The new Amazon "hybrid" drone can switch between flying like a helicopter and airplane, and has a range of 15 miles, according to the company.
The jury is in: People love drones. In 2014, there were only four exhibitors at CES that were offering drones. This year, there will be 27 different exhibitors, with a massive marketplace taking up a large percentage of the showroom floor.
This year, the novelty of the quadcopter has finally worn off: It’s no longer enough to show people an ultra-powerful quadcopter with a 4K camera or one that can take off from the palm of your hand. It’s been done before, and the thrill is gone.
Now, people want drones to have advanced sensor arrays that monitor the environment, keep them from crashing, remain in legal airspace, and make flying them easier.
One of the drone companies everyone will be watching for is Lily Robotics. In 2015, Lily Robotics revealed its simple tracking drone on Kickstarter. The drone can be thrown up into the air, and it follows a user around using a bluetooth signal. The 2.8 pound Lily drone records video, audio, shoots photographs and can take off in midair—unlike many of the other aerial photography drones that require landing gears or feet. But while the concept videos have been very promising, it remains to be seen how functional Lily will be in practice, and hopefully CES 2016 is where we will find out.

Home automation

Illustration by Diego Patiño
Smart Home
We’ve heard it for years: the home of the future will be powered by intelligent devices that communicate with each other and make life a little easier. The problem is that in the last three years, smart home products have largely failed to live up to the hype. Most come with their own apps and must be strung together with other smart home products using weird application programming interfaces (APIs) or IFTTT recipes. We hope this year will be different.
At CES 2016, almost all of the Tech West hall will be covered by new smarthome gadgets. Products that are compatible with Google’s Nest Learning Thermostat, Apple HomeKit, Wink, and Thread are expected to be bountiful. For the most part, all of these smart home platforms are still fragmented and have very few products that can actually work together in a meaningful way. That could change at CES, where many of the major product makers like Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, even the glass manufacturer Corning, and more will be displaying their latest lineup of home appliances and devices.

New year, new laws: what's changing around the world on 1 January 2016

Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Estonia on 1 January 2016, the first former Soviet republic to make it so.
New Year’s Day isn’t just about hangovers, new calendars and the sobering thought of getting another year older. Every year a slew of new rules, laws and regulations come into effect. And 2016 is no different.
So as of Friday, same-sex marriage becomes legal in Estonia (the first former Soviet republic to do so), certain Turkish food imports are banned in Russia and Dutch shops will no longer be able to give away free plastic bags. 
Stockholm and Copenhagen prepare to institute identity checks for people arriving in Sweden from Denmark - one of the major routes into the country for refugees, though the new rules don’t come into effect until Monday (Jan 4).
For two weeks from Friday some people in Delhi will only be able to drive their cars every second day in an attempt to reduce pollution in the city. Vehicles affected will be allowed on the road on alternating days, depending on whether their number plates start with an even or odd number. The law, which does not apply to taxis, buses or cars powered by natural gas or to any female drivers, is an attempt to reduce congestion and pollution in a city where 1,500 cars are added to the roads each day and where air quality is ranked “very poor”.


An Indian rickshaw puller passes under a bridge in Delhi, where air quality is ranked ‘very poor’.
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 An Indian rickshaw puller passes under a bridge in Delhi, where air quality is ranked ‘very poor’. Photograph: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images

Indeed, 2016 is set to be a banner year for red-tape registration. Japan is introducing My Number, a social security and tax registration number that residents will carry with them through their lifetimes. In France, selling dogs and cats will get more bureaucratic, with a tax registration number needed for sales. The number must be published in all advertisements for the animals. This law is aimed at levelling the playing field between private sellers and fully licensed breeders.
On the issue of animals, it will become a class A misdemeanour to leave a pet outside in extreme temperatures in the US state of Illinois. The ban, which applies both extreme heat and extreme cold, was written in response to several dogs dying last winter after being left outside in subzero temperatures, and will carry a punishment of up to a year in prison and a fine of $2,500 (£1,700).


Dogs in the back of a car. Illinois is making it a misdemeanour to leave a pet outside in extreme temperatures.
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 Dogs in the back of a car. Illinois is making it a misdemeanour to leave a pet outside in extreme temperatures. Photograph: Keith Bedford/Reuters

E-cigarettes will face something of a backlash. From 1 January, it will be illegal to sell tobacco in “kid-friendly” flavours such as grape and cherry in Ontario, Canada. A ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and vaporisers to people under the age of 19 will also come into effect in the province. The age limit will be even more strict in Hawaii, where it becomes illegal to sell tobacco products and e-cigarettes to under-21s. In the US state of Oregon, laws that ban smoking in workplaces, restaurants and indoor public places will be extended to cover e-cigarettes, vape pens, e-hookah and other inhalant devices.
Elsewhere, it’s a good start to the new year for women: elected female representatives take up their seats in Saudi Arabia after an unprecedented election last month, while Northern Ireland’s first minister will step down, paving the way for the province’s first female leader – Arlene Foster.


A woman casts her ballot in Jeddah on 12 December in the first Saudi elections to allow women to vote.
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 A woman casts her ballot in Jeddah on 12 December in the first Saudi elections to allow women to vote. Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images

In Germany, meanwhile, new rules come into force under which the supervisory boards of large companies must include at least 30% women.
In the UK, a prison smoking ban will be phased in after a seven-year battle, postgrads will be able to apply for student loans and, believe it or not, rules pertaining to electric bicycles will be harmonised with those in Europe, complete with cut-off speed of 15.5mph. Girlguiding pack leaders will no longer be required to retire at 65.
Among more esoteric laws out there, “anchoring” a golf club – holding it against the body during the swing – is no longer allowed. Lambs intended for slaughter in the UK are no longer allowed to have non-electronic slaughter tags. And in New South Wales, Australia, property agents will be prohibited from underquoting a price expected at auction.


View across San Sebastián from Mount Igueldo. The city is to share European capital of culture with Wroclaw.
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 View across San Sebastián from Mount Igueldo. The city is to share European capital of culture with Wroclaw. Photograph: Richard Passmore/Getty Images

Finally, there are the grand institutional shifts, which are worth knowing but may not affect your daily life too much. The Netherlands takes over the EU presidency, Japan hosts the G7 summit, and Wroclaw in Poland and San Sebastián in Spain become European capitals of culture.
What have we missed? What other new laws come into effect in January? Let us know in the thread below.

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