Rise of the Machines

Robots: Who doesn't love the idea of a humanoid personal assistant with artificial intelligence, laser eyes and the ability to preempt your every move? No, wait…

2015 is the year of wearable technology, right? No, that was last year. This year wearable tech beds in and gets on with the real job in hand. The 2015 buzz surrounds robots of all shapes and sizes.

Yesterday, I caught up with Aldebaran at CES, a French company making big waves in the android marketplace. That’s ‘android’ with a small ‘A’. I first met NAO in Poland last month and loved the playful approach Aldebaran had taken to developing their first consumer robot.

Only it isn’t available to consumers yet. 10 years of refinement means developers have been the first to get their hands on the cute little chap to hone interaction and push boundaries for commercial markets. He currently responds to a set list of commands but this is then extended by the user with AI kicking in as he learns new and exciting ways to respond.

The limb articulation is particularly impressive. If you push NAO over, he struggles back to his feet in a truly human fashion. This where it all begins to get a little weird. The mere act of pushing him over makes you catch your breath, as if actually bullying a small child. You feel bad about having performed this action, merely to see see how he’ll react. And so begins the human/humanoid relationship.

Aldebaran have some exciting products in the pipeline, including Romeo, a personal assistant and companion for the medical and care industry. Humanoid robots with character can play a vital role in this area, with NAO already used in hospitals to aid rehabilitation and put children at ease in an intimidating environment.

I spoke with a number of other fascinating robotic manufacturers at CES but the tiniest was Ozobot, a cute little droid that (in their words) “teaches robotics and coding through fun, creative and social games”. I love the use of physical and digital inputs – in its simplest form, providing a pen or pixel line for Ozobot to follow across paper and tablet. The manufacturers picked up a raft of awards at CES – deservedly so.

This market isn’t just for startups, Google went on a buying spree in 2014 and their ownership of robotics companies is now in double figures. Automotive manufacturers have been at this game for years. Honda and Toyota are particularly hot in this area, as Mercedes and Audi up their game at CES with autonomous cars – that kinda makes the whole car a robot!

Amazon is another big player entering the arena. They’re offering us the chance to purchase our own personal assistant, Echo, useful and worrying in equal measures – especially with its ‘always listening’ approach.

Window cleaning robots, digital sandwich board cyborgs and tiny printer droids – Vegas was wall-to-wall automatons.

Of course, robots come in all shapes and sizes, with drones also falling into this category. Now everyone wants a drone before they get legislated out of existence so grab one while you can!

If 2015 wasn’t kicking off with a big enough buzz around robots, just wait for the season climax with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December. These are the droids you are looking for.

Wearables: The Whole Package

The 2014 wearable marketplace offered a random scattergun approach to product development. Tech-biased, fashion-biased, bracelets, watches, clips and headgear all vied for the same ground without any apparent strategy other than to get there first in the rush to the front. At CES, ‘wearables’ are bigger than ever.

I’ve written a lot about mobile, wearable technology and digital content, but I don't just sit around talking about it. At Brandwidth, we help to shape the stuff, create incredible digital experiences and tell the world about it.

When all the boxes haven’t been ticked, this makes me angry. Startups, growing brands and global giants are all guilty of this. Applying the word ‘smart’ to something doesn’t automatically make it smart and even when it is, often the implementation, narrative and marketing isn’t. Quite frankly, it’s inexcusable.

Over the past year, I have been testing a number of VR and AR platforms, including Oculus Rift, Zeiss ONE VR and Samsung’s Gear VR. Rift still owns the field and was not only the first established player in this current VR reboot but has Facebook $s to back this up. They’re doing a great job and taking their time but the product is a long way from consumer’s hands. Or is it?

Actually, Rift technology is lurking inside Samsung’s Gear VR and it’s a great product that's available now, with full mobility (none of Rift’s own cabling to contend with) and a new Milk VR store. But wait, the website’s a mess, littered with typos and poor UI and none of the gloss associated with Apple’s products or even rival Zeiss ONE VR. Ironically, there's a much better representation of Gear VR on the Oculus website.

It’s just not good enough. The website can’t be an afterthought, it’s a vital portal to the products and for many the first contact with the brand. Perception is everything in a virtual world so why sell yourself short?

It’s not all about the branding. Brands need to get their stories straight if they’re going to convince us to part with more money for devices that we’re not even sure we need.

Until we’re offered genuine digital convergence, each device must fit seamlessly into our lives and play nicely with all our existing technology.

The rest of the VR and AR field is wide open and I’ve tested some incredible products at CES this year. Ones that really stood out included the latest version of Oculus Rift – Crescent Bay. The new model features 3D audio, is much lighter, has only one tethered wire, extraordinary spacial recognition for head movements and a massive step forward in screen resolution. The demos I tried were so good that the increased quality was enough to feel as if you were really there, rather than merely experiencing a great piece of tech.

I also tried the Sulon Cortex. This provides an extraordinary mix of VR and AR by using an external camera to display surroundings, then overlaying digital content until you ‘step into’ the full VR environment. This Canadian start up is currently flying below the radar as they establish solid R&D before hitting consumers. Definitely one to watch.

My final pick of the headgear wearables is the Recon Jet. More Canadian tech, but with a sports bias. Their Google Glass-beating technology is already featured in snow goggles but the headset I’ve been waiting (a long time) for is a much sleeker unit and one of the first pairs of tech glasses not to make the wearer look an idiot. They hit the market next month. More when I have my own pair…

VR and AR has incredible potential for entertainment, sport, automotive, museums and er, the sex industry, but what about the rest of the wearables market? It’s huge (like CES itself) and I’m not writing about it all here. I’ve covered VR, AR and glasses. I’ll tackle the rest next week!

CES 2015: Dawn of the DumbWatch

In many respects, 2014 was like 2009 for the tech industry. In 2009 we found ourselves bombarded with tablet concepts, 2014 pebble-dashed consumers with ill-conceived smartwatches.

Five years ago, all the talk was about Apple’s forthcoming tablet and CES 2010 was full of Android devices rushing to beat Apple to market. The iPad was officially revealed the week after the tech world left Vegas and launched the following April.

We didn’t witness an immediate stand-off between Apple and Android, the battle lines were drawn between the 80+ tablets revealed at CES, with a fight to the death.

So, here we are at the Consumer Electronics Show 2015, with wall-to-wall ‘Wearable Technology’ or ‘Wearables’ and the smartwatch is king. Or is it? Well, Apple isn’t here again. They’re not saving money, they just have a valid point to make – everyone’s talking about the the Apple Watch anyway.

I’ve been testing a selection of so-called smartwatches to destruction for the past 18 months and the conclusion is that they’re actually pretty dumb.

I’m not going to review each one in depth – I’ve done that enough either here or on the BBC but none of them tick all the boxes they should. They even have an issue with branding: From the cheekily named ‘i’m Watch’, to the ridiculous ‘LG G Watch R’ and ‘HP MB Chronowing’, to the rather more obvious ‘Sony Smartwatch’ and Will.i.am’s anti-watch, the ‘Puls’. It’s easy to see why Apple went with ‘Apple Watch’. Who knows if we’ll ever discover the truth about why they didn’t run with ‘iWatch’.

Here’s a quick personal checklist for each watch:

i’m Watch

+ Early to market brownie points – and the cheek of a name so close to ‘iWatch’

– Naive product and interactive design, it just doesn’t work (first two died within weeks) and wasn’t waterproof

Sony Smartwatch 2

+ Sony have been dabbling with smartwatches for years, there’s a Smartwatch 3 now, using generic Android Wear UI, but I don’t think the product design is as attractive as this steel model. Good battery life thanks to the low power screen with time-only sleep mode and single screen tap to illuminate. Waterproof

– The on-screen experience is a mess and feels old.

UPDATE: Smartwatch 3 Steel Edition tested at CES – a really nice looking quality watch that goes to the top of my Android Wear list. Also, a new range of strap and face combinations to launch next month.

Cogito Classic

+ Extra marks for making an attractive watch in a range if colours, with analogue hands and an illuminated circular screen. Breaks from the smartwatch mainstream and works with both Android and iOS smartphones

– My latest model has died, leaving working analogue hands but no screen. A new software update is expected to add connected home functionality.

UPDATE: A replacement watch is on the way but a stylish new model launched at CES looks interesting. More when I get my hands on one...

LG G Watch R

+ LG also have a smartwatch track record. This latest circular model improves on past attempts, with 2+ days battery life from an always-on time display. Measures biometric data (heart rate, steps taken + personal goals). Waterproof

– The overall product design is poor and feels cheap – especially when faced with the superior visual appeal of the Moto 360

HP Michael Bastian Chronowing

+ Finally, a smartwatch that genuinely focuses on quality design and materials, that works with Android AND iOS. The partnership between fashion designer Michael Bastian and tech giant HP should have been a perfect match. No, wait…

– …despite a beautiful presentation box holding three different straps (brown leather, olive mesh and black rubber) they are very difficult to change – unlike the fast-swap system on the Apple Watch, designed to improve the experience AND encourage additional strap purchase.

Also, the Chronowing is blighted by a poor on-screen user experience: No biometric data or motion detection, the text is too small, screen illumination requires a 3 second press and hold of one physical button, Bluetooth has a habit of disconnecting (although this has improved) and the magnet in my charging cradle isn't strong enough to stay attached to the watch. HP is on the case and a new charger is on its way to my hotel in Vegas, with better instructions for strap changing. I'll reserve final judgement.

UPDATE: The new re-designed charger has arrived. It now contains a stronger magnet and attaches without issue. Bluetooth is now stable and stays connected to my iPhone 6.

Will.i.am’s Puls Smart Cuff

It hasn’t arrived yet. I’ll tell you what it’s like to live with very soon…

A watch must deliver the time for at least 24 hours, look good, feel comfortable and not require compromise or extra effort. It must also offer information at-a-glance. These are the basics, like a book offering words or a film moving images and sound. Don’t attempt to enhance something if you can’t get the basics right. Which one am I wearing today? The Chronowing (despite all its faults) as it’s still a conversation starter.

Apple has a chance to tick boxes where others have failed, but they first need to convince an audience that abandoned watches for smartphones with clocks that they actually need one now.

In 2010 99% of iPad owners didn’t think they needed a tablet, but Steve Jobs made a compelling case and developers stepped up to create amazing content (including Brandwidth on day 1). The Apple Watch won’t be such an easy sell, Steve’s no longer around and success is measured on shifting more units than the last ‘big thing’.

Stop viewing smartwatches as standalone items and think of them as the small screen for the bigger screens and they have a future, just not the ones I’ve been wearing.

The Battle for the Dashboard

As the pace of technological innovation within the automotive sector continues to  increase, more and more of the analogue interior is becoming the new digital frontier. Apple hopes CarPlay will provide a common visual language to streamline the process.

Last week, the focus was all on Apple's WWDC keynote announcements in San Francisco. They delivered a wide range of software solutions, arming iOS developers with the next generation of digital tools and laying the groundwork for a raft of exciting hardware products in the run up to the holiday season.

Headlines were grabbed by enhanced Photos, audio Messages, smart Keyboards, Family Sharing, iCloud Drive, HealthKit, HomeKit and an entirely new programming language – Swift.

At WWDC 2013, Apple announced its intention to bring iOS to the car, on more than just your phone screen and earlier this year the first serious brand partners were revealed...

I have worked with the automotive industry for nearly 15 years and had much more than a passing interest in cars my whole life. However, I’ve never been a big fan of motoring classics unless influencing contemporary curves, so technological developments inside the car offer a fascinating design and development challenge. How do we bring the screen experience from our pockets to the the dashboard?

On the surface, this would seem a relatively simple step for Apple. iOS7 and iOS8 offer a flat graphic simplicity that lends itself to quick actions accessed at a glance, or effective voice commands for key features. Just the kind of interaction you want when 99% of your attention should be on the road ahead.

Apple’s hardware always follows a beautiful, streamlined aesthetic, free from unnecessary adornments and flourishes. Thanks to last year’s iOS7 overhaul, the software now compliments this perfectly.

The automotive market is a very different animal. Whilst brands may retain a level of consistency and share common components (ie VW Group or GM), they all assume different characters.

Consistency of digital brand: BMW UI from key to smartphone to smartwatch.

The BMW family screen UI is probably the best example of a diverse range, all reaching for the best on-screen graphics whilst adopting wildly different personalities. The MINI colour palette, iconography and graphics take on a cheeky, playful persona. Rolls Royce provides the polar opposite with layered glass-like panels to match the physical buttons surrounding the main screen. BMW’s conventional range uses a subtle colour palette to identify key functions (Audio, Sat Nav, Phone, etc) and gentle layering of content, with occasional light flares and reflective buttons. The new ‘i’ EV range range takes this a step further with a more adventurous palette and deeper layering for something that wouldn’t look out of place on the bridge of the USS Enterprise... but in a good way.

Graphic vs skeuomorphic, flat vs layered, corporate fonts, colour palettes and screen ratios. These are all graphic elements to take into consideration and there is undoubtedly a fine creative balancing act involved to combine existing branding and features with Apple’s CarPlay interface.

I’ve dwelt on the potential pitfalls but many automotive manufacturers are still offering drivers a pretty poor on-screen experience. Although the latest Land Rover Discovery Vision concept has a full set of screens displaying content that looks as if it could have emerged from Apple’s own creative studio, Tesla offers a comparatively poor graphic interface within the largest digital real estate on the market. The Model S UI is the perfect candidate for a full CarPlay-compatible makeover – especially as Tesla is a shoe-in for Apple acquisition and Elon Musk being Steve Jobs’ true successor-in-waiting.

I digress. Currently, CarPlay is only supporting 3rd party audio apps such as Beats (naturally) and Spotify music streaming services. Future app integration will build on this, with huge potential for voice commands and audio interaction. The focus will always remain on products that don’t distract the driver and offer the continuation of relevant services from phone to car. There’s little point offering everything in the car, in much the same way the compass app is pretty pointless on a smart TV.

Where CarPlay comes into its own is the familiarity through shared interfaces and content. The continuation of basic actions is essential, such as track syncing if started outside the car, then continued once driving. Also, the ability to share mapping data is genuinely useful (this wouldn't have been an option with Apple Maps 1.0). Navigate to a location in your car, then park and seamlessly continue on foot – that’s useful.

So what does the future hold for CarPlay? Apps are dead, right? No, this isn’t about using the internet in your car to replace apps.

Consider the following...

• Mapping data to provide info regarding payment services for parking, admission or valeting
• PassBook electronic tickets issued upon payment to display in-dash and on phone
• Biometric integration – Apple's Health app linked to wearable tech to monitor heart rate and consciousness levels for safety at the wheel
• HUD and gesture recognition – there’s a thought for future generations of iPhone interaction.

CarPlay offers automotive manufacturers the opportunity to streamline their UI and make consumers‘ lives simpler through familiarity. Apple has a chance to lock down another sector into the world of iOS. It’s not a bad place to be.

A version of this article originally appeared in iCreate issue 134