Pittsburgh Takes the World Stage at CES 2024
By Jonathan Kersting
The Consumer Electronics Show 2024 (CES) is one of the most highly anticipated events in the technology industry and Pittsburgh tech companies are making a solid presence this year showcasing our regional as center of innovation.
CES serves as a global platform for showcasing the latest technological innovations and trends, and brings together industry leaders, innovators, and tech enthusiasts from all around the world. CES has grown to become more than just an exhibition, but also a forum for discussing and shaping the future of technology.
The impact of CES can be seen far beyond the event itself, as the trends and innovations showcased at the event often shape the direction of the technology industry for years to come. From the first DVD players showcased at CES 1996 to the latest advancements in self-driving cars and smart homes, CES has been an important catalyst for innovation and progress. CES 2024 is set to be a game-changer, as it brings together the brightest minds in the technology industry to showcase their latest innovations and discuss the future of technology. The event promises to provide valuable insights and inspiration to attendees, and to shape the direction of the industry for years to come.
“The Pittsburgh region is a living lab that’s leading the development and commercialization of what’s next in autonomous solutions. Ta
king this to the global stage at CES – and showcasing thought leadership from a diversity of companies that are part of Pittsburgh’s ever-expanding autonomy ecosystem – is an exceptional opportunity. It will reinforce to the tech world convened at CES that Pittsburgh is at the top of the list of hubs that are shaping the now – and the future – of autonomy,” said PRA Vice President, Business Investment, Mike Harding.
At CES 2024, Pittsburgh will be represented under the banners of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA) – the region’s economic development organization – in partnership with the Pittsburgh Technology Council.
Panel Discussion: Building Approachable Technology in Pittsburgh
The centerpiece of Pittsburgh’s CES premiere was the “Building Approachable Technology in Pittsburgh” on 1/9, underscoring the region’s world leadership in robotics and autonomy. Moderated by Lenna Cominos, Executive Director, Corporate Partnerships at Carnegie Mellon University, the panel featured these industry experts: Sterling Anderson, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Aurora; Ed Olson, CEO, May Mobility; Patrick Mondi, CEO, Thoro.ai; and Micol Marchetti-Bowick, CTO, Velo.ai.
Ranging from established market leaders to growth-oriented startups, these companies reflect the diversity of the Pittsburgh region’s robotics/autonomy ecosystem, which is now 100+ companies strong and growing.
Listen to the Discussion Here
Meet Our Panelists!
Hear From Pittsburgh-Based Participants at CES 2024
Brian Beyer of Hellbender
The Pittsburgh Technology Council and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance took to CES 2024 along dozens of Pittsburgh tech and innovation companies.
The Tech Council's Jonathan Kersting caught up with Hellbender's Brian Beyer as he details the importance of CES as a worldwide meeting ground to connect with customers and find potential new customers and/or partners.
Hellbender creates Computer Vision solutions for customers across multiple industries. Learn more at www.hellbender.com.
Hank Gasbarro of Powercast
Powercast's Hank Gasbarro tells us how the company's continuing mission is to provide wireless power solutions that increase the range and efficiency by which RF energy is converted into DC power, which can be harvested from dedicated and ambient sources.
Powercast won (3) Innovation Awards at CES 2023 for our $5 BOM cost RF transmitter. Learn more about Powercast at https://www.powercastco.com/.
Tom Doyle of Aspinity
Aspinity Founder and COO Tom Doyle took a quick break from a busy day at CES 2024 to tell us more about the company's analog machine learning chips that are revolutionizing the architecture of always-on sensing devices that run on battery.
Built using the company's unique RAMP™ technology platform, Aspinity’s ultra-low power, trainable and programmable analogML™ (analog machine learning) core delivers highly discriminating analog event detection that eliminates the digitization of irrelevant data and dramatically extending battery life for consumer, IoT, industrial and medical applications.
Mike Embrescia of Carnegie Robotics
Carnegie Robotics made a literal splash at CES this year as Brunswick debuted its technology in its high-end boats.
Carnegie Robotics' Mike Embrescia explains how the company's advanced vision systems allow these million-plus-dollar boats to dock autonomously.
Since 2010, Carnegie Robotics (CRL) has focused its strength in two key areas: Engineering autonomy for some of the world’s largest companies – and building the products, sensors and software that power autonomy. Learn more at https://www.carnegierobotics.com/.
Patient Safety Technology Challenge
This year at CES, the Patient Safety Technology Challenge, a national program of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative and Jewish Healthcare Foundation, co-sponsored and provided a prize for the highly competitive CTA Foundation Pitch Contest featuring technologies that help people of all ages and abilities get out into the world for work or play. During the Pitch Contest, eight finalist startups pitched their health tech to a standing-room-only audience. Patient Safety Technology Challenge Award Judge Lance Bailey of HealthySimulation.com selected Proxie as the patient safety technology award winner. Proxie, also the people’s choice award winner of the pitch contest, is a remote at-home healthcare management system that blends human expertise and AI tech to deliver comprehensive care at home. The grand prize winner of the competition Augmental is the world’s first available hands-free touchpad which is a tongue-driven interface that controls your computer, smartphone, or tablet via Bluetooth. Other competition sponsors included Canon, Ricoh, Next 50, and The Human Component.
Pittsburgh Represents
Some key companies making the journey to CES for 2024:
ANSYS: ANSYS is the global leader in engineering simulation. It helps the world’s most innovative companies deliver radically better products to their customers. By offering the best and broadest portfolio of engineering simulation software, ANSYS helps them solve the most complex design challenges and engineer products limited only by imagination.
Aspinity: Aspinity provides ultra-low power, analog machine learning (analogML) chips for battery-operated always-on sensing. Aspinity's Reconfigurable Analog Module Processor (RAMP) technology platform enables a new, more power-efficient "analyze-first" system architecture that allows voice, glass-break, alarms, vibrational signatures, or other sensor events to be detected within raw analog sensor input in order to eliminate the wasteful digitization and processing of irrelevant data.
Aurora: Delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly to make transportation safer, increasingly accessible, and more reliable and efficient than ever. The Aurora Driver is a self-driving system designed to operate multiple vehicle types, from freight-hauling trucks to ride-hailing passenger vehicles, and underpins Aurora Horizon and Aurora Connect, its driver-as-a-service products for trucking and ride-hailing. Aurora is working with industry leaders across the transportation ecosystem, including Toyota, FedEx, Volvo Trucks, PACCAR, Uber, Uber Freight, U.S. Xpress, Werner, Covenant, Schneider, and Ryder.
Carnegie Robotics: Carnegie Robotics (CRL) is a leading provider of advanced robotics sensors, autonomy software and platforms for defense, maritime, agriculture, mining, infrastructure, and the energy sectors. Based in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and situated on a five (5) acre campus, the company retrofitted a 100+ year old former steel mill into a modern engineering and manufacturing space.
Covestro: Pittsburgh is home to the North American headquarters of Covestro LLC, a leading producer of high-performance polymers. Covestro develops innovative polymer solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and sports and leisure industries.
EY: EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.
Hellbender: Hellbender Inc is a full service product engineering and manufacturing firm that builds products around the Raspberry Pi CM4, RP2040, Nvidia NX modules, and smart cameras. We specialize in supporting software intensive startups get their AI, IOT, and Robotics products to market faster by keeping engineering, firmware development, and manufacturing under one roof. From prototype to production rates of ~100,000 units per year, build your next product with us in Western Pennsylvania. Hellbender Inc. is Pennsylvania's first registered manufacturing and technology Benefit Corporation.
May Mobility: May Mobility develops autonomous vehicle (AV) technology and deploys fleets of vehicles to municipal and business customers. Its proprietary Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) system is at the core of its mission to help make cities safer, greener and more accessible. MPDM's proven track record has delivered more than 350,000 autonomy-enabled rides in 12 communities across the U.S. and Japan. With key strategic partnerships including some of the world's most innovative automotive and transportation companies, such as Toyota Motor Corporation and NTT, May Mobility aims to achieve the highest standard in rider safety, sustainability and transportation equity.
Powercast: Powercast Corporation is focused on designing innovative products that use its patented Wireless Power and Lifetime Power® technologies. Theses technologies enable products to be battery-less or last up to 25 years on a pre-installed battery. Powercast products are designed solely or with industry leading partners. Powercast's expertise includes: RF electronics, Ultra-low Power Electronics Design, Wireless Communications, and Antenna Design.
PwC: PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services for public and private clients. More than 140,000 people in 149 countries connect their thinking, experience and solutions to build public trust and enhance value for clients and their stakeholders. PwC recognizes that the technology industries' software, life sciences, computers, semiconductors and networking companies and the investors that fuel them profoundly influence our lives.
SAE: With more than 121,000 members, SAE International is the premier, non-profit educational and scientific organization dedicated to advancing mobility engineering worldwide to better serve the world. More than 97 countries are represented among our engineers, business executives, educators and students, who develop and share technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles, including automobiles, trucks and buses, off-highway equipment, aircraft, aerospace vehicles, marine, rail, and transit systems.
Thoro.ai: Innovating approaches, leveraging autonomy, to solve repetitive, manual process in the physical world. But rather than focus on their core idea, innovators developed an autonomy stack to implement their solution. Thoro's platform provides the software, hardware, cloud solutions and on-the-ground service, comprising of the entire stack necessary to partner with world class OEMs. Thoro tech is already in deployment globally through a partnership with Nilfisk on its leading SC50. The result is increased productivity and job satisfaction. The human-machine team is powered by Thoro.ai.
Velo.ai: Building autonomy tech to make streets safer for all. The company’s first product, Copilot, is an AI-powered bike light that puts autonomous vehicle tech on the backs of bikes.