The travel industry has a lot to look forward to and prepare for when it comes to tech innovations.
Last week marked the 51st CES conference, one of the world’s largest consumer electronics conferences — showcasing the latest in all things tech, from augmented and virtual reality to video, audio, wireless services, smart home devices and more.
This year it took place in Las Vegas, featuring 1,200 speakers including Jim Hackett, president and CEO, Ford; U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine L. Chao; and Anita Sengupta, senior vice president of engineering, Hyperloop.
Here are some of the highlights from the conference we can expect to see integrated into the travel industry in the near future.
Voice Assistance
Our voices are more important than ever. While this isn’t a huge surprise considering the already-growing trend of voice-assisted technologies (i.e., Amazon Alexa and Google Home) implemented in hotel rooms across the country, the technology continues to improve.
At the conference, Kohler unveiled a line of smart bathroom and kitchen products controllable by an app or voice command, including a lighted bathroom mirror called Verdera, which comes with Amazon Alexa built in, and a smart toilet offering hands-free flushing.
Moen announced its U by Moen Smart Shower adds support for Amazon Alexa and Siri, the latter via Apple’s HomeKit, in the first half of 2018. The technology will start your shower and heat it up to your desired temperature all via voice command or app.
Serving several functions beneficial for hotel guests, the Asus Lyra Voice functions as a WiFi router, speaker and digital assistant, powered by Amazon Alexa, capable of playing music, controlling smart home devices and answering queries.
Automotive Innovation
People won’t only be talking to tech in hotel rooms: Mercedes impressed with a new “Hey Mercedes” system for its cars, and Raven is a system that sits on the dashboard, offering a WiFi hotspot, GPS, security system, vehicle diagnostics and front- and cabin-facing video cameras. It will also give you feedback on your driving.
The Fisker EMotion made its debut, sporting a gorgeous luxury design and an all-electric powertrain with a battery that’ll carry the car up to 400 miles; and the Honda Neuv concept car provided a look at the future of AI integration in the automotive industry and a bright future of eco-friendly cars.
Amazon, Intel and Cisco also made announcements about autonomous driving partnerships at CES, adding to conversations and testing already ongoing by Alphabet’s Waymo, Tesla, Volvo and several others.
Robotics
It was a tough year at CES for robotic companies, with several technical issues, from malfunctions to operation failures, but, nonetheless, the presence of robotics in the future is imminent.
LG showed off its Cloi home-helping robot, meant to act as an interface between people and in-home electronics, like washers and ovens; and the Aeolus robot performs a range of household tasks, like mopping floors, rearranging furniture and putting away dishes.
Emotion-reading robots like Softbanks’ charming Pepper and QIHAN’s Sanbot can be programmed to chat with customers, answer questions and give directions — a convenient addition, perhaps, to hotel lobbies.
Health and Fitness
Frequent travel can take a toll on health — a fact many travelers are aware of and seek to avoid. In light of recent demand for increased health and wellness options while on the road, several companies introduce new equipment and technologies hotels may want to keep an eye on.
The Peloton Tread set itself apart from the rest at CES with a 32-inch HD touchscreen and, for $39 per month, users can stream more than 10 daily live classes as well as guided workouts. The machines come with a hefty price tag of $4,000.
In the world of virtual reality, Black Box VR created a fitness experience blending video games with strength training — it plans to open a boutique gym in San Francisco in 2018, and it’ll be interesting to see if it’s something hotels adopt in the future.
What are your thoughts on the recent tech trends as they relate to travel? Email us at [email protected].
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