With thousands of booths and hundreds of press conferences, it is easy to get caught up in the inflated expectations that permeate the air at CES. It often takes years for the cutting edge ideas shown at this mega-event to become mainstream. The Consumer Technology Association illustrates how CES has been at the forefront of new technnology with a timeline, which, for example, cited 2005 as the “introduction” (some had been doing it before then, of course) of IPTV. Look for the Viodi summary of CES next week on the Calix blog. In the meantime, a few interviews from last week’s show are below.
Distributed Heating or Computing Solution?
Imagine using the heat generated by a data center to warm homes. The team behind France-based, Qarnot Computing had such an idea and created a distributed data center solution that provides homeowners free heat and smart home capabilities in a compact unit. A smart software system that manages the compute nodes and process, together with a Fiber to the Home network is what makes it possible to distribute the data center into essentially a distributed supercomputer.
Click here to view and read more from our interview with Qarnot at CES.
The Smart Phone Walkie-Textie
When there is no network, a smartphone isn’t so smart. Jorge Perdomo understood that notion when he came up with the idea for the goTenna. What goTenna has developed is reminiscent of the work of Krishnamoorthy and Srikrishna and their idea to create a social mesh network that could also be used by first responders. With the FirstNet RFP now released, it will be interesting to see if any entity proposes a device-first approach to create a robust emergency communications network.
Click here to view and read more of our interview with goTenna at CES.
You Can Make a Difference
“You have to believe you can make a difference and I do believe that,” says Cliff Duncan of Duncan Cable in the above video filmed at the 2015 ACA Summit. Duncan and his colleagues from around the country provide a glimpse of why the ACA Summit is an important venue for showing Washington D.C. policymakers the challenges and opportunities of bringing broadband and video to rural America. If you weren’t there last year, the Viodi-produced video found at this link provides a flavor for the type of content that can be expected at the 2016 ACA Summit, which will feature Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Gene Kimmelman, President & CEO of Public Knowledge.
Click here to view.
The Creation of a Fiber Cooperative
Alluded to in last month’s article, Property Assessed Broadband – A Bottoms Up Way to Build Community & Broadband, this video shows how a group of communities formed a cooperative to build a broadband network. As described in the video, moving from idea to an organization took many years and was not a straight line. Once the organization was formed and a service provider found, progress was amazing as the initial fiber to the home customers began receiving service only months after financing was secured. It was a privilege to be part of the documentation process with this interview from 2012 and then helping to edit this latest video.
Click here to view.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- From gas pipes to neighbor’s sod, the hardest part about getting a gigabit, may be the last 100 feet.
- 4 HD channels multiplexed into one 4k screen what DISH calls “Sports bar at home” No wonder the Hopper 3 has 16 tuners
- Teleportation Close to Reality – well written article by Peter Redford on how teleportation is available and how it could change everything. Implicit is the idea of a shared teleportation model whereby a person could “rent” a device for an event, so they wouldn’t even have to own a unit. Sharing will bring the cost down, making robotic teleportation affordable for everyone. Beam has begun doing this for trade show events, as chronicled here….
- This article captures some of the issues and potential mitigation for a self-driving future. Specific mitigation could include the type of limited and phased approach that it looks like GM and Lyft may introduce in Austin with a relatively low-speed, autonomous taxi service focused in the downtown area.
- The proposals by the U.S. Department of Transportation to work with private industry to facilitate autonomous driving are encouraging. Still, it seems like there is enough private capital in this segment and perhaps the $4B proposed over 10 years would be better spent ensuring that roads have good markings, as Dr. Alain Kornhauser suggested in this presentation.
The Korner – You Don’t Need to Be There to See It in 3D
Virtual reality and the low-cost of creation of immersive video experiences via 180 and 360 degree cameras were everywhere at CES 2016. Just before Christmas, we caught up with a creator of a new video camera that sparked the thought that 3D video may be posed for a rebirth of sorts through user-generated content. Looking through it with the eyes of a 15-year-old and hearing the “wow moment”, one has to think that 2016 might finally be the year of 3D video. Low-cost and simple 3D capture, along with low-cost virtual reality headsets could be the elements that give video a third-dimension in the upcoming year.
It only took a few seconds to become immersed in the sample concert video Jin provided to see how 3D, coupled with the interface of a virtual reality headset, will open new and improved ways to use video, such as in training and education. It is the new and unanticipated applications that excite Jin the most about what he and his team have accomplished with their two-year development.
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