i3 - March/April 2021 - 23

cyber security and customer privacy
protection.
● Entertainment: Michael Kassan,
chairman and CEO of MediaLink, and
Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO of
WarnerMedia Studios and Networks
Group, described the evolving entertainment industry.

KEY THEMES AT CES 2021

The event featured innovations that
improve health, safety, sustainability,
accessibility and mobility.
● Tech Innovation Accelerated by
COVID-19: Companies innovated
during the pandemic, unveiling smart
masks, disinfecting robots, body sensors that detect COVID-19 symptoms
and smart air filtration systems.
● Consumer Privacy and Trust: The
heads of privacy at Amazon, Google
and Twitter discussed new privacy
regulations and the need to increase
consumer trust.
● Global Tech Challenge: Launched
at CES 2020, in partnership with the
World Bank and CTA, the Global Tech
Challenge rewarded tech solutions in
three areas: digital health in East
Africa, resilience in India and gender
equality worldwide.
● Space Tech: NASA was joined by
leaders from Lockheed Martin and

CES 2021 focused on tech innovation. The CES
anchor desk included interviews with industry leaders; Walmart's Doug McMillan gave a compelling keynote; Caterpillar showed its tech leadership; and
AMD's Dr. Lisa Su shared the company's vision.

Space Tango to discuss technology's
role in accelerating space research.

CES ANCHOR DESK

The CES Live Anchor Desk was a true
broadcast experience, providing the
latest CES news with anchors:
● Rich DeMuro - Tech reporter for
KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles
@richontech
● Justine Ezarik (iJustine) - Host +
Tech Content Creator @ijustine
● Naomi Kyle - Host and Producer
@NaomiKyle
● Brian Tong - Tech Host & Content
Creator @briantong
The Anchor Desk featured interviews
with top industry leaders including
entrepreneur Mark Cuban; musician
and tech entrepreneur will.i.am; and
HRH Constantijn van Oranje, The
Netherlands; and executives from
AT&T, Audi, Bosch, FIFA, Humana,
Hyperion, Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, Material Impact, OMRON
Healthcare, Philips, P&G, Samsung
Electronics and United Talent Agency.
CES 2021 was truly a global event,
with attendees from 150 countries and
over 1300 international exhibitors,
including more than 530 international startups. Large delegations of
exhibitors attended from Canada,
France, Israel, Italy, Japan and South
Korea and for the first time, startups
from Nigeria and Russia. CES 2022
will return to Las Vegas, as well as
digitally, Jan. 5-8, 2022.

CATERPILLAR, A NON-TRADITIONAL TECH COMPANY

Most people recognize Caterpillar as a global leader when it comes to manufacturing
heavy equipment for the mining industry. But many were surprised to learn at CES
2021 that the technology that goes along with that big yellow iron is also built by
Caterpillar. The Cat MineStar Solutions® suite of mining technologies are at the forefront of tech innovation. Mining technology and autonomous vehicles are gamechangers that improve the productivity and safety of Caterpillar's customer
operations. Those who work in mining automation technology see the impact of
these solutions from the Canadian Oil Sands to deep underground in Australia. The
company's success in the tech space over the last four decades is due to its talented
software developers, researchers, computer engineers and data analysts. Interested
in working with a talented tech team? Visit cat.com/ces2021.
C TA . t e c h / i 3

i3_0321_22-23_Feature_CES Wrapup.indd 23

MOJO SEES THE
FUTURE AT
LAST GADGET
STANDING
by Robin Raskin
For the 21st year, but for the first time in an
all-digital format, CES 2021 hosted Last
Gadget Standing (LGS), an audience-fueled
technology competition to predict which
new product will stand the test of time. The
contest pitted five recently launched or
soon-to-hit-the-market products against
each other, and the audience voted in realtime on January 12 for the most innovative
product after watching video demos from all
five companies.
Garnering 57% of the vote, the winner
was Mojo Lens, a smart contact lens being
developed by Mojo Vision, a Saratoga, California-based startup. The contact lens uses
a proprietary augmented reality technology
to project images, video and text onto the
wearer's field of vision. The lens has a teeny
built-in display that provides information
(think weather, messages and stocks) as
well as features like real-time contrast, lighting enhancements and zoom functionality,
which the company hopes will provide the
powers of " super-vision. " Mojo Lens won't be
ready for consumers this year, but it exemplifies the groundbreaking innovation that the
LGS competition rewards.
Drew Perkins, the company's CEO said, " Winning LGS has been a great experience, and
we're honored, especially when you look at the
amazing innovations and cutting-edge products at this year's CES. The award wasn't just a
great kickoff to 2021, it has also inspired new investor and partner interest in Mojo Vision. "
The other contenders gave stellar performances in their own right:
● Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Fold, the world's first
foldable PC,
● OrCam's OrCam Reader, a reader for lowvision users that translates text to speech,
whether on-screen, from a newspaper, a
menu, or even a package label,
● TG0's etee, a controller that makes virtual
reality experiences more user-friendly, and
● ArcX's Smart Ring, a wearable ring with a
built in-joystick to improve sports workouts.
Congratulations to the finalists - we're excited to see where these products take us
this year!
MARCH/APRIL 2021

3/11/21 12:35 PM

http://www.cat.com/ces2021 https://CTA.tech/i3

i3 - March/April 2021

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