General Motors forges towards all-electric future
DUBAI, January 19, 2021 General Motors has outlined its efforts to lead the charge to an all-electric future at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), together with a vision that creates a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. From revitalising the company to signal the start of a new chapter with a new brand identity and logo, to reimagining modern mobility with the Cadillac Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) air taxi concept, General Motors is evolving to meet this moment, the company said. And where General Motors forges a path, Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac will follow with electric vehicles and experiences to help put everyone in an EV, the company said.
Cadillac Vertical Take-Off and Landing (Credit: General Motors)
CES 2021 once again provided tech enthusiasts with a glimpse of the future flying electric cars, smartphones with rollable screens, home robots capable of doing the dishes, and more. But will any of these innovations make their way to your home or driveway? Time will tell. But the annual tech show offered a number of bold concept ideas that grabbed our attention.
Razer s Project Hazel
Credit: Razer
Not all futures are rosy. But at least you’ll be able to face the dystopia with this cyberpunk-like mask. PC maker Razer is working on a battery-powered facial mask built with smart air filters, a built-in microphone, and RGB lighting. Razer will test the prototype, dubbed Project Hazel, over the next few months before deciding whether to make it into a real product.
Deducing the top trends at a massive trade show like CES is more art than science. I’ve been doing it for 15 years and have generally followed the same process: Collect as much information as possible under embargo in advance of the show, limit show meetings to breaking news and relationship-building, and try to read everything the PCMag team publishes. There s also a longstanding tradition of asking every other journalist I meet if they ve seen anything “cool.” After all, there s an infinite amount to cover, and scoops age quickly under the omnipresent glare of 24/7 media.
This year, of course, things were different. There were no flights to Vegas or overpriced hotel rooms. There were no endless lines to get into press conferences or a tightly thronged show floor. (Wheelie bags? Seriously people?!) There were no vendor dinners where makers, marketers, technologists, and spin doctors could share a meal and seek common interests. And there was no collegial collaboration among
CES delivers some real winners each year, but it also has a rich history as a breeding ground for weird technologies.
In years past, the show has yielded peculiarities such as cell phone radiation-blocking underwear, a waistline-monitoring smart belt, and a vending machine for fresh loaves of bread. It s hard to forget Charmin s 2020 RollBot, a robot that can bring you a spare roll of toilet paper when you run out (strangely foreshadowing the great TP shortage that came just months later).
Despite being all-digital this year due to the coronavirus, CES 2021 offered no shortage of oddities. On the list of strange new innovations is a poop-analyzing toilet that offers dietary advice, smart perfume you can customize from an app, and a headless robotic pet meant to soothe your angst. And it only gets weirder from there.