Formlabs CEO Max Lobosky talks about cool stuff that can be 3D printed with their products.
Tag Archives: CES 2020
Mastercard Launches Augmented Reality Experience to Bring Card Benefits to Life
Mastercard unveiled at CES 2020 a new augmented reality (AR) app that lets cardholders see, explore and access the benefits of their Mastercard. The industry-first card benefits app delivers a photorealistic AR experience that transports users to a 360-degree virtual environment, where a series of interactive portals brings their card benefits back to life.
According to the J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, rewards continue to drive consumer satisfaction with cards, yet only a third of credit card holders completely understand all the benefits available to them. Using augmented reality, the new Mastercard app puts benefit information front and center for cardholders in a fully immersive experience that can be easily accessed with their mobile device.
“At Mastercard, we’re using our technology and solutions to deliver multi-sensory experiences for consumers every day – whether they’re shopping, taking transit, or exploring the card benefits they care about,” said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard. “By leveraging an intuitive AR design, cardholders can now easily find and fully explore their benefits that otherwise might have been overlooked.”
How it works:
- Upon launching the app, cardholders will be prompted to scan their Mastercard to start the session.
- Using their phone to scan the area around them, cardholders will see three portals, each one representing one of the three categories that Mastercard benefits fall into: Experiences, Everyday Value and Peace of Mind.
- To explore a a benefit area, cardholders can tap the related portal to launch a fully immersive 360-degree experience which brings that are to life. For example, Peace of Mind is represented by a spa, and Everyday Value is a stylish home.
- Once inside, cardholders can use their phone to look around the virtual room and discover their benefits – each represented by a relevant item. For example, tapping on a set of golf clubs prompts a pop-up screen where a user can learn about and access their Priceless Golf benefits.
- When finished exploring, users can simply tap to exit the portal turn.
The app will be available in the App Store (for iPhones) in the U.S. in Q2 2020, with additional regional and device availability coming later in the year. The technology can be white labeled for Mastercard’s issuing partners, creating customized experiences for their cardholders.
Samsung SDS and Syniverse Simplify Mobile Payments at CES 2020
At CES 2020, Samsung SDS, a global leader in digital transformation and innovation solutions, and Syniverse the world’s most connected company, announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a wallet-agnostic, mobile payment platform to enable regulatory-compliant, cross-region mobile transactions for mobile operators and enterprises in logistics, financial, travel and hospitality, media and entertainment, and retail markets.
The companies will bring together Samsung SDS’s Nexledger Universal platform and Syniverse’s industry-leading blockchain solution, Universal Commerce, and market-aware Mobile Engagement platform to develop a common platform that will work with any mobile operator and allow any mobile user to send money, loyalty points, or other digital currencies to other mobile users or merchants on a global basis.
Samsung SDS and Syniverse developed the platform using a motto of simplicity that “your phone number has become your easiest payment method.”
Samsung SDS and its Nexledger Universal platform allow enterprises to take control of distributed transactions, securely and conveniently. The platform has been implemented in various fields, such as finance, manufacturing, logistics, and the public sector.
Nexledger Universal offers a flexible application programming interface that can be applied to different blockchains like Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric and Samsung’s own Nexledger Consensus Algorithm. In addition, Nexledger Universal can interoperate with diverse wallet-device architectures from vanilla Android to the defense-grade Samsung Knox for exceptional security when needed.
Syniverse’s mobile technology products and services provide a secure instant-access platform for seamless, customizable multi-channel messaging and connectivity. The platform connects more than 7 billion devices in 158 countries and annually processes more than $35 billion in transactions for mobile operators and enterprises.
Syniverse’s Universal Commerce blockchain service simplifies, accelerates, and secures multiparty agreements by replacing manual processes with smart contracts, unifying data records, and providing encryption. It reduces the friction of doing business in a revenue-sharing world of large-scale global service and technologies – regardless of industry or connectivity type.
Medirom and MATRIX Industries Deliver Wearable Health Monitor that Never Needs Charging at CES 2020
Medirom announced a partnership with MATRIX Industries enabling users in the US and Japan to monitor their health activities 24/7 by delivering the world’s first health monitoring smartband – MOTHER – that never requires charging.
As research shows, the number one reason consumers stop using wearables is because they take them off to charge and forget that they exist. By partnering with MATRIX, Medirom hopes to develop a smart-tracker that never requires charging and can provide accessible options for consumers.
MATRIX has developed PowerWatch – the world’s first smartwatch that never requires charging – by applying innovative technology like its Gemini TEG (Thermoelectric Generator) and Mercury Boost Converter that enables body heat to generate electricity. With PowerWatch, it is possible to measure calorie consumption, activity and sleep, without ever needing to stop and charge.
MOTHER is a smart tracker that never requires charging and can provide accessible options for consumers. With MOTHER, Medirom and MATRIX are particular about the unisex design that can be worn stylishly regardless of gender and distinguish from other trackers on the market.
With MOTHER, they will open up the SDK (Software Development Kit) for apps to help any healthcare service provider to build and expand their own service easily.
RoboSense Announces World’s First Public Road Test of Smart LiDAR Vehicle at CES 2020
RoboSense, the leading autonomous driving LiDAR perception solution provider, announced the world’s first public test of a vehicle equipped with a Smart LiDAR Sensor at CES 2020. The RoboSense Smart LiDAR car, featuring the award-winning RS-LiDAR-M1 Smart LiDAR, will be running outside the Las Vegas Convention Center daily during CES 2020, showing the latest technological progress in autonomous vehicle LiDAR.
Simultaneous exhibitions will be held at RoboSense’s CES Booth #6138 at the LLVC, North Hall showcasing the real-time 3D point cloud data on a vehicle equipped with the multi solid state LiDAR fusion system.
The RoboSense RS-LiDAR-M1 Smart LiDAR is the world’s first MEMS Smart LiDAR Sensor to incorporate sensor hardware, AI perception algorithms, and IC chipsets, transforming conventional LiDAR sensors from an information collector to a complete data analysis and comprehensive system, providing essential information for autonomous vehicle decision-making faster than ever before. The RS-LiDAR-M1 is the winner of the CES Innovation Award for two consecutive years in a row, 2019 and 2020.
At CES and on the streets of Las Vegas, the RoboSense RS-LiDAR-M1 Smart is demonstrating that it is the world’s first and only Smart LiDAR capable of real road tests on open roads.
During CES 2020, RoboSense128-beams LiDAR RS-Ruby and the short-range Blind Spot LiDAR RS-BPearl also go on public road demo, meanwhile there is also a simultaneous exhibition at RoboSense booth. This super high-performance 128-beam LiDAR RS-Ruby possesses an ultra high resolution 0.1° and the range performance of 200m for a 10% reflectivity target.
The RS-BPearl, the first mass produced short-range LiDAR for blind-spot detection, reaches the minimum detection range of less than several centimeters, with hemispheric FOV coverage of 90° * 360°, which not only precisely identifies objects around the vehicle’s body, but can also detect the actual height information in particular scenarios, such as with bridge tunnels and culverts.
TDK Announces World’s First MIPI Standard Sound Microphone at CES 2020
TDK Corporation announced the world’s first MIPI Standard SoundWire microphone for mobile, IoT and other consumer devices. This multimode microphone pushes the boundaries of digital microphone acoustic performance while providing advanced feature sets with very low power.
The T5808 SoundWire microphone features 66 dBA SNR and 135dB SPL AOP at 650 µA in high quality in high quality mode (HQM), and decreases power consumption to 215µA in low power mode (LPM). The T5808 microphone also features concurrent mode (CCM), enabling simultaneous audio streams from HQM and LPM that can seamlessly transition back and forth without audio glitches.
The SoundWire Standards Committee, who created the MIPI standard for SoundWire, includes technology leaders in application processors, audio DSPs and codecs, and other ICs. SoundWire is a standard audio bus that supports multiple audio devices including microphones, speakers, codecs and class D amplifiers. SoundWire revolutionizes how audio devices and ICs communicate by integrating audio and control data for up to 11 devices (e.g. 7 mics, 4 speakers) on a single bus.
“As a member of the SoundWire Standards Committee, Qualcomm Technologies has supported the SoundWire Interface on speaker amplifier products for a number of years. We are excited to see TDK’s microphone technology now incorporating this interface.” said Rahul Shinke, Director, Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
T5808 is currently in mass production and will be available through distribution in Q1 2020.
TDK will be demonstrating the T5808 microphone along with the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of passive components, sensors, power supplies and batteries in its booth #11448 at CES, Central Hall (LVCC), CES 2020.
Misty Robotics Launches First Misty II Application for Concierge Use
Misty Robotics, the creators of the Misty II platform robot announced the launch of the Misty as a Concierge application template, which provides developers with a robust starting point to build robot skills and quickly put Misty II to work.
The Misty II application templates are open source code for developers to build upon and customize for a specific assignment or task. The Misty as a Concierge application template has utility in environments such as entertainment and sports venues, hotels, eldercare, retail, commercial real estate, museums, and more.
The Misty as a Concierge application template leverages her ability to detect humans in her presence, greet them, and interact with them to provide information and responses to their questions by integrating with third-party APIs such as FourSquare, etc. Developers can extend the utility of the concierge robot skill with other capabilities such as reservations, point of sale systems, call for assistance, directions, etc.
The application templates created by Misty will consist of the code that facilitates the skill, an implementation guide as well as a recorded workshop on how to use it. While initially seeded by Misty Robotics, templates will be supported and maintained by the community where developers are invited to extend the utility of the application and contribute their own code.
The Misty as a Concierge application template has practical use in a wide range of settings including:
- Hospitality – hotels (in room and lobby), luxury suites in entertainment venues
- Eldercare – facilities (in room, lobby central gathering rooms), individual homes
- Retail – front desk, non-staffed locations (e.g. printing desk, Floor Displays, e.g. a new car showroom), in-store display
- Commercial Real Estate – front lobby, meeting rooms, visitor centers
- Healthcare – Hospitals (in room and lobby), doctor’s offices
- Education – school lobby, front offices
- Museums – front lobby, specialized installations
- Marketing – Events and activations
Visit Misty Robotics at the Venetian Tower, Hospitality, VEN 36-108 at CES 2020.