Gizmos Galore: The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Pictures [Slide Show]
Here is a bit of what an estimated 140,000 attendees saw at last week's CES
![Gizmos Galore: The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Pictures [Slide Show]](/sciam/cache/file/6F9C22EC-1665-4E9D-A9FFA511599764BE.jpg?w=590&h=393)
Gizmos Galore: The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Pictures [Slide Show]
- TOMORROW'S URBAN RIDE: Driver and passenger enter and leave the EN-V through a front panel that can be pushed away from the vehicle or, in the case of the Xiao, lifts up like a hatchback. Once seat-belted, the driver takes hold of a rectangular steering wheel about the size of a small tablet computer with handgrips on either side. The steering wheel is the interface with the vehicle's onboard computer, enabling the driver to manually steer the EN-V or set the vehicle to travel autonomously, connect to the Internet, and conduct a video chat with other EN-V drivers. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- ELECTRIC NETWORKED VEHICLE: General Motors gave the public a rare glimpse of its two-wheel, two-person Electric Networked Vehicle (EN-V) in a parking lot outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. The prototype EN-Vs come in three different designs. The blue diving helmet-shaped EN-V pictured here is called the Xiao, which is Chinese for "laugh". An EN-V can travel at up to 40 kilometers per hour with a range of up to 65 kilometers on a fully charged battery. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- IN-HOME CAR CHARGER: The Ford Focus Electric's 23 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery can be recharged in three to four hours with a 220-volt outlet. The company is selling the home charging systems—which retail for $1,499, not including installation—via Best Buy. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- BABYING THE BATTERY: The Ford Focus Electric's lithium ion battery relies on heated and cooled liquid to help maximize battery life and gas-free driving range. Whereas air-cooling methods work well for smaller battery systems used in gas-powered cars, the larger, more complex lithium ion battery technology found in all-electric vehicles calls for an aggressive thermal management system. Ford's active liquid system heats or chills coolant before pumping it through the battery thermal control system. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT: Electric-powered vehicles (and their drivers) have different needs than their combustion-driven cousins, which typically are within a few miles of one or more gas stations in any given area. The Focus Electric features software that lets drivers set the time of day they wish to charge their vehicle, view the total distance it could travel on current battery charge and locate recharging stations within range. Unlike Chevy's Volt, there's no backup internal-combustion engine. The Focus Electric also features MyFord Touch, the latest generation of the company's SYNC voice-activated interface for hands-free phone, audio, video, navigation and other applications. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- FORD GOES ELECTRIC: Ford made it official at CES—its Focus Electric car will go into production by the end of the year. The company's first all-electric passenger car (Ford introduced an electric version of its Transit Connect commercial van last year), the Focus Electric features an electric motor (pictured here) performs the conversion between electrical and mechanical power, which goes to the front wheels through a one-speed transmission. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- 3-D RELOADED: Samsung's $150 battery-powered 3-D Active Glasses were on display at CES, enabling show-floor wanderers to take in 3-D on the company's monitors and laptops. The glasses work by first blocking the left and then the right lens so rapidly that the eye does not notice, creating what the company refers to as a "staggered" effect that results in 3-D images. The company also introduced at CES a newer, 25 percent lighter design for active 3-D viewing glasses weighing 27 grams. The SSG-3700CR uses a smaller circuit board and can be outfitted with prescription lenses. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- SLEEK, YET STRONG: Sony Corp. announced at CES that Corning's 0.7-millimeter thin scratch- and break-resistant Gorilla Glass is being designed into the Sony Bravia line of 40-inch and larger LCD televisions. TV shipments across the consumer electronics industry reached more than 247 million units in 2010, a 17 percent increase from 2009 and the most growth since the start of the flat-panel TV transition, according to research firm DisplaySearch. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- NO CONTROL(LER): Microsoft showed off its Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360 game console. Microsoft says it has sold eight million Kinects since they went on sale in November. The addition of Kinect to the Xbox console enables video game play without the need for a controller, as shown here. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
- BALANCING BOTS: Japan's Murata Manufacturing Co. showed off the exploits of Murata Boy and Murata Girl, whose gyroscopic innards enable them to balance on a bicycle and unicycle, respectively. Murata Boy, a 50-centimeter tall bot who the company says "dreams of cycling around the world," rides his two-wheeler along a narrow beam without falling. Murata Girl's dream, fittingly, is to travel around the world with Murata Boy. LARRY GREENEMEIER/SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
