The 3 biggest takeaways from CES 2025 (AI Everywhere)

[siliconbruh999]

CES is fun to see products that are being tested and introduced but many of then do not make it to market. From what I could see online, this year is still dominated by automotive. I did not see a killer AI product or app yet but it is still early. Hopefully within five years of the ChatGPT introduction, which was at the end of 2022. Otherwise the AI bubble will burst sooner than later, my opinion.

i just hope it bursts and we are left with genuine AI use cases not this hyping train where everyone says AI,AI.

 

[MKWVentures]

It is certainly nice to see semiconductors front and center, well deserved, but TSMC should be doing victory laps with Nvidia, AMD, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc... AI in autos has been a major disappointment for me. I expected fully automated cars by now. So much hype back in the day.

I was at CES about 6 years ago. There was tons of hype on self driving cars. I asked executive from a company (I think it was ford) when we would see L4 or L5 Cars. they said never. Despite the official forecasts of 1M l4 cars on road in 2024. He said, These are just concept cars to develop technologies. The reason was the target cost for a car was 200K in 2025. There is not a financial model to make that work. I have never believed they will take off....

I will admit there are actual driverless taxis in SF and Scottsdale which i doubted. However they were supposed to be widespread in 2022.

It always comes down to finances. What is the financial model to make this work? Which companies are making money on L3/4 cars

 

[XYang2023]

I subscribed to the Unitree WeChat news feed, and the following is a video they published two weeks ago:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV17rCGY1Ebe/

Also:

I prefer quadruped robots over humanoid robots.

I have been considering on working on some projects on this platform for a while. As I mentioned earlier, due to safety concerns, I will limit those activities to personal use/research only.

 

[jiakun0618]

The same logic applies to robotics. Because Nvidia and Tesla are deliberately bringing humanoid robots into the conversation (likely to add hype and stories to their stock performance), many people are overhyping the concept.

I have discussed this with my supervisor and lab colleagues multiple times. The safety concerns associated with such robots will likely prevent their widespread adoption, limiting them to testing or research purposes.

The types of robots that see widespread adoption are typically vacuum robots or robots that are inherently safe to use.

Lastly, there is the question of whether humanoid robots are even necessary. Many problems can be addressed differently in ways that do not require such robots.

With more R&D dollars poured into the area, robots would get cheaper. It's easy to image robots can replace human in many situations. For example, security guards with night vision. 10 years ago no one truly believe electric vehicle can become the mainstream. Now about half of the new cars sold in China are EVs. If the West is not developing these new technologies fast, Chinese will enjoy a dominant position in the supply chain of the humanoid robotics sector, just like in EV, and solar.

 

[jiakun0618]

1/2 of the business cards I got were from Chinese companies ..... most of which wanted me to move manufacturing TO China (not a chance of that btw. Too big a risk of future tariffs and already a target of 30% tariffs).

If you are focusing in the US market, that's true. But if you are selling to the rest of the world, maybe that's a necessity.

 

[XYang2023]

With more R&D dollars poured into the area, robots would get cheaper. It's easy to image robots can replace human in many situations. For example, security guards with night vision. 10 years ago no one truly believe electric vehicle can become the mainstream. Now about half of the new cars sold in China are EVs. If the West is not developing these new technologies fast, Chinese will enjoy a dominant position in the supply chain of the humanoid robotics sector, just like in EV, and solar.

I agree with you, but I think that only applies to China.

For example, I have a drone pilot license, but even that is not enough to fly a drone in national parks. In Victoria, Australia, most natural areas are classified as national parks. To fly there, I would need to incorporate a company and apply for a special company license. Beyond that, if you can't keep the drone within your line of sight, you must obtain a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) license, which is a highly specialized license requiring in-depth knowledge similar to that of an actual pilot.

Drones can already be used for security, but even if I had those licenses, drones cannot be flown within 30 meters (in a cylindrical measure) of people and must be piloted by a person. These restrictions undermine any potential efficiency gains.

The demos we saw with humanoid robots are almost all remotely controlled by people. If such regulations remain, they make the efficiency arguments somewhat pointless.

 

[Xebec]

I prefer quadruped robots over humanoid robots.

I have been considering on working on some projects on this platform for a while. As I mentioned earlier, due to safety concerns, I will limit those activities to personal use/research only.

I'm probably 'weird', but when I see the robot dogs in person, I really get a sense of "I do not trust this thing". I haven't seen humanoid robots doing things in person yet. Wheeled robots seem OK to me.

(I also prefer cats over dogs..)

 

[XYang2023]

I'm probably 'weird', but when I see the robot dogs in person, I really get a sense of "I do not trust this thing". I haven't seen humanoid robots doing things in person yet. Wheeled robots seem OK to me.

(I also prefer cats over dogs..)

I want to use robots for gardening works I prefer not to have noisy robot inside living space I happen to know there is a research of human sensitivity to robot noise in our faculty.

 

[blueone]

(I also prefer cats over dogs..)

What would a robot cat do all day? Sleep and groom itself, like a real cat?

 

[XYang2023]

What would a robot cat do all day? Sleep and groom itself, like a real cat?

Many robot applications are designed to fulfill emotional needs, and they can be mechanically complex. My supervisor often told me that these could be replaced with a tablet costing less than $100.

 

[blueone]

Many robot applications are designed to fulfill emotional needs, and they can be mechanically complex. My supervisor often told me that these could be replaced with a tablet costing less than $100.

I wish I could get a robot cat to replace our live cat, but my wife would never agree. She thinks cats are "essential to life". I think I'd like a robot cat. It wouldn't need a litter box that needs regular maintenance, and it wouldn't shed fur all over the house.

 

[Xebec]

I want to use robots for gardening works I prefer not to have noisy robot inside living space I happen to know there is a research of human sensitivity to robot noise in our faculty.

Way off topic - but you might like the book "Quiet" by Susan Cain. It taught me both about myself and how to share with others that I'm more bothered by too much sensory input than "normal" (in US culture). It is a good book for leadership learning too.

That's a pretty good research topic honestly. I think the impact of noise on stress and health is not as well understood as it could be.

 

[Xebec]

I wish I could get a robot cat to replace our live cat, but my wife would never agree. She thinks cats are "essential to life". I think I'd like a robot cat. It wouldn't need a litter box that needs regular maintenance, and it wouldn't shed fur all over the house.

Lol. Just be glad you don't have a dog! .

 

[OneEng]

CES is fun to see products that are being tested and introduced but many of then do not make it to market. From what I could see online, this year is still dominated by automotive. I did not see a killer AI product or app yet but it is still early. Hopefully within five years of the ChatGPT introduction, which was at the end of 2022. Otherwise the AI bubble will burst sooner than later, my opinion.

Agree. I did an interview with a group that had a video channel at CES. They were joking with me before the video that they were shocked to see an actual product that was in production (we are waiting on the slow boat around the Houthi problem for sales to start). Evidentially, you assessment is correct since this group said a majority of their interviews were with people that just had proof of concept.

We use AI in our product (on the server) to help analyze trends that are then used to help the customer with our product plan (the product is an AI enhanced EV charger that has a dedicated vehicle interface device).... so the AI usage is real, but it isn't as "cool" as a robot that carries on a conversation with you . Useful? Yes. Cool? Not really.

As for Autonomous vehicles, Elon Musk is dead set on achieving full self driving using ONLY cameras as he believes if a human can do it, so can a vehicle ..... but I would really love to see a vehicle make a baby in 9 months .

Waymo on the other hand is using a full complement of cameras, radar, and Lidar along with maps and AI analysis. They are achieving very impressive self drive safety and are growing rapidly. Personally, I am not sure I wouldn't prefer an Uber driver .... but it is hard to argue with raw statistics! I am perhaps too old to overcome this bias .... but the younger generation? They might think we are crazy to get in a cab with a stranger with an unknown driving record! Hard to argue with that logic.

Anyway, my feet and back have mostly recovered from my ordeal at CES (I swear "close by" in Las Vegas means "around a mile" everywhere else!).