Speaker 1: It is snowing like the Dickens here in the Denver
Speaker 1: Tech Center, but you know where it's not snowing Las Vegas,
Speaker 1: unless you consider the Consumer Electronics Show to be a
Speaker 1: weather a vein of its own, because they're pointing right
Speaker 1: to the future of tech. This is the largest trade show,
Speaker 1: I think, probably of its kind, maybe in the world.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 1: It's been going on for years, and I have to
Speaker 1: say this, for many, many years I followed the Consumer
Speaker 1: Electronics Show because I wanted to know about the latest
Speaker 1: coolest stereo equipment and audio visual equipment and flat screen TVs.
Speaker 1: But boy, are we in a different world with this now.
Speaker 1: And joining me now the vp CTAVP of Global Events
Speaker 1: and Communication, she's Jennifer Drogus with the Consumer Electronics Show. Jennifer,
Speaker 1: I'm looking online at the coverage of this show and
Speaker 1: what I'm seeing is you are surrounded by robots right now.
Speaker 3: Well, first of all, Mandy, thanks so much for having
Speaker 3: me on, and it's so great to be.
Speaker 2: Here at the super Bowl of Tech. And you're right,
Speaker 2: robots are everywhere.
Speaker 3: You can't take two steps without seeing a robotics booth.
Speaker 3: And it's just been really excellent to see how robotics
Speaker 3: has been a standout, not just your sci fi robots,
Speaker 3: not your cute boxing robots that you maybe see on
Speaker 3: social media, but practical robots that are helping farmers, builders,
Speaker 3: and manufacturers really work more safely and efficiently.
Speaker 1: Well, I was going to ask because and I asked
Speaker 1: Jennifer Off the year is like, Okay, what other things
Speaker 1: do we want to talk about? I kind of want
Speaker 1: to ask questions about the the unconventional tech first, because
Speaker 1: we have a ton of farmers and ranchers in our
Speaker 1: listening audience. We cover a huge metro area. But then
Speaker 1: we also go way out into the planes. What are
Speaker 1: some of the interesting tech pieces that are coming to agriculture?
Speaker 1: Because I know that farmers have to deal with things
Speaker 1: like labor shortages, how to get their crops in in
Speaker 1: a timely fashion. What are you guys seeing that we're
Speaker 1: going to be seeing in the fields at some point soon.
Speaker 2: There is so much tech in agricul culture.
Speaker 3: It's absolutely one of my favorite categories to watch out for.
Speaker 2: And we have the.
Speaker 3: Big ag companies at the show, including John Deere and Caterpillar.
Speaker 2: In fact, the CEO.
Speaker 3: Of Caterpillar, Joe Creed was one of our keynote speakers
Speaker 3: this year. He was up on the stage talking about
Speaker 3: the future of agriculture thanks to AI, and he unveiled
Speaker 3: an AI assistant that is helping operators of machinery do
Speaker 3: their jobs more efficiently and faster. And we have the
Speaker 3: giant combines and everything on the floor. It's just really
Speaker 3: really awesome to see how this technology is going to
Speaker 3: make agriculture more precise, safer.
Speaker 2: And it's it's going to make our food taste better.
Speaker 2: It's going to be awesome.
Speaker 1: One of the things that I'm waiting for, and this
Speaker 1: might be too deep in the weeds for this conversation,
Speaker 1: is there are challenges with getting ripe fruits and vegetables
Speaker 1: out of the ground using robotics, and it has to
Speaker 1: do with their ability to have a soft touch, right.
Speaker 1: There are human things about that that have to be overcome.
Speaker 1: Are we seeing that yet? Are we moving that direction yet?
Speaker 1: For harvesting as well?
Speaker 3: Tech is evolving and it's really exciting to see what
Speaker 3: where it's going to take us next. And all I
Speaker 3: can say is that the tech that I'm seeing on
Speaker 3: the show floor, I think it's it's closer to uh
Speaker 3: to reality for many of us than we realize.
Speaker 1: So are you guys seeing my new robot made? Is
Speaker 1: that in the show this year?
Speaker 2: Like?
Speaker 1: I mean, because I'm seeing some robots washing dishes and
Speaker 1: it warms my heart, It really does, Jennifer, So are
Speaker 1: you are we seeing that as well?
Speaker 2: It's uh.
Speaker 3: I think we're officially entering the Jetsons phase. We're starting
Speaker 3: to see robots that can help you get to your
Speaker 3: makeup on in the morning. I love the ruma that
Speaker 3: has a little arm that picks up socks while it's
Speaker 3: while it's vacuuming.
Speaker 2: It's the little things, but they add up to be
Speaker 2: big game changers.
Speaker 1: So let's talk about an area that I love. I'm
Speaker 1: super excited about where AI is going for healthcare and
Speaker 1: longevity in those things. Where are we seeing advances? What
Speaker 1: sort of advances do you have in that area?
Speaker 3: AI is everywhere, It's in all of the technology. It's
Speaker 3: not just a hype anymore. It's really a tool. It's
Speaker 3: it's helping make everything smarter, more intelligent. I'm actually on
Speaker 3: the table next to me is a transparent knee that
Speaker 3: has AI built into it, and it helps monitor your
Speaker 3: movements and the health of your joints. And that's something
Speaker 3: that plays into the longevity narrative, like tech is going
Speaker 3: to help us live better lives. It's going to help
Speaker 3: us when we want to walk with our kids through
Speaker 3: Disney World and for long days or just or just
Speaker 3: maintain an understanding of where we are in terms of
Speaker 3: our health.
Speaker 1: This show, for a very long time, and I'm talking
Speaker 1: like twenty five thirty years ago, was so much about
Speaker 1: audio visual equipment and and sort of entertainment. What is
Speaker 1: there interesting in the entertainment aspect that you guys are
Speaker 1: seeing this year?
Speaker 3: Entertainment is so immersive and at CEES, one of our
Speaker 3: main halls is filled with all of this immersive entertainment tech. Again,
Speaker 3: there's so much AI that's informing how people consume their entertainment,
Speaker 3: from the sound, from the visual quality. Right when I
Speaker 3: think it won't get better, it gets leaps and bounds better.
Speaker 3: So again we continue to see our minds blown with
Speaker 3: really cool, immersive like you're actually there entertainment.
Speaker 1: So the products that you guys have at the Consumer
Speaker 1: Electronics Show, when will we the consumer, because this is
Speaker 1: a trade show, When will we the consumer?
Speaker 2: When should we.
Speaker 1: Expect to see this stuff become widely available, and you know,
Speaker 1: I don't know how. The first time I ever saw
Speaker 1: flat screen TV was at the Consumer Electronics Show, and
Speaker 1: I feel like it took like two years for it
Speaker 1: to become available at an extremely high price. But when
Speaker 1: is this stuff coming to market? Is it ready to
Speaker 1: go or is it already in the market? And this
Speaker 1: just allows them to showcase it.
Speaker 3: Some of the tech is already in the market, and
Speaker 3: that's really exciting to see. But like you say, a
Speaker 3: trade show is really about showcasing the future, and that's
Speaker 3: exactly what CES does.
Speaker 2: It is a portal to the future.
Speaker 3: So a lot of the tech that you're seeing, yes
Speaker 3: it's still on the concept phase, but we're innovating so
Speaker 3: quickly now.
Speaker 2: I think the timelines are getting shorter.
Speaker 1: Has there been anything in this year's show that made you,
Speaker 1: jennifergo what?
Speaker 2: I can't even begin to acount.
Speaker 3: But my favorite part of the show always is our
Speaker 3: Eureka Park floor because that's where our startups are and
Speaker 3: so that's where the problems that you didn't know needed
Speaker 3: solving are getting solved. And these are the hungry small
Speaker 3: businesses that are looking for that investor funding and so
Speaker 3: I see the most creative pitches when I'm down there.
Speaker 1: Jennifer Krogus is with the Consumer Electronics Show. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much. I do an interview with this quite often
Speaker 1: because you know, we can't get there, we can't go
Speaker 1: and hit the floor.
Speaker 2: But I would.
Speaker 1: There are some great, great, great tech journalists that cover
Speaker 1: this show so well. So if you have any interest,
Speaker 1: use the Google you know, use the Consumer Electronics Show
Speaker 1: tech coverage, and it is some of the stuff is crazy.
Speaker 1: So I kind of I have a little bit of
Speaker 1: envy for your job, Jennifer, because you get to go
Speaker 1: and see what's coming and see the next level and
Speaker 1: it just it's something that uh that always looks like,
Speaker 1: you know, walking through the future in Jetson's world.
Speaker 3: To your point earlier, well, certainly follow us on on
Speaker 3: all of your social media. We're constantly updating and you
Speaker 3: can you can immerse yourself that way.
Speaker 1: All right, Jennifer Krogus from the Consumer Electronics Show. Ope,
Speaker 1: thank you for your time. I just accidentally hung up
Speaker 1: on Jennifer, So that was rude of me, that being said,
Speaker 1: Oh no, she's still there, Jennifer, thank you for your
Speaker 1: time today.