Would You Like Chips With That?
In 1959, While working at Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby was awarded a US Patent for his miniaturized electronics circuits, and the microchip era began. Today, basically all modern contraptions use microchip technology. And it’s just getting started. This goes to show you how much one piece of technology can drastically change the course of the world.
The British company “Arm” is currently conducting a research project aptly named “Plastic Armpit”. They hope to build a chip that will be weaved into clothing and will notify the wearer when it’s time to do laundry and time to take a shower.
Chips will also be woven into appliances that wash, dry and cook by sensors, and traffic lights will better distribute traffic flow, with chips communicating to vehicles. Chips implanted into farm animals will manage their feeding times and their medicines. Even the human body, will connect to a computer in the future, all designed to make life easier and better.
This is all science fiction to me. My wife, who is a techie, finds my computer skills primitive. I have an email account, and I book my flights and hotels online. Whenever I have a tech question and I don’t want to bother her, I ask my grandson. I just have to call him before 8 pm on school nights because that’s his bedtime.
CES, The Consumer Electronics Show is the annual trade show run by The Consumer Technology Association, which is scheduled to run from January 7, 2020 to January 10, 2020 in Las Vegas. Over 175,000 industry professionals will pay $300 per ticket to attend this techie convention; transforming Las Vegas into the premier global stage for consumer technology. Over 61,000 attendees are from outside the United States. Just to appreciate how important this show really is, consider what the airlines will do. United Airlines will be adding extra flights using wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft, that usually fly internationally, to fly the short 414 air miles from San Francisco to Las Vegas, just to accommodate CES attendees.
American Airlines and Japan Airlines are adding direct flights between Tokyo to Las Vegas to help deal with the high demand created by this important high tech convention.
Delta Airlines will present it’s CEO, Ed Bastion as the CES keynote speaker, discussing technology and innovation that will transform travel.
Elon Musk, the head of Tesla , the battery operated vehicle which is really a computer on wheels, told this interesting story. During Hurricane Dorian last August, owners of Tesla vehicles were told that the life of their battery has magically developed the ability to drive further on the same charge. Tesla vehicles are always internet-connected to the techies at headquarters in Palo Alto, California. Because of the need to evacuate, Tesla was able to access more battery life via this connection to help Tesla owners.
Companies can now stay connected to their customers after the product has been sold, allowing for continuous customer service via the computer chip, as Tesla has done during the hurricane.
Profound change is coming and the world will be a different place. One piece of technology can drastically change the course of the world. I may be too old to intern at a high tech company but it’s never too late to become a techie. I’m logging on to my computer and booking a ticket to Las Vegas and plan to join the other 175,000 attendees at this premier convention
About the Author: Jake Tewel holds a Masters Degree from YU, a wine seller, caterer and a million miler for the past 15 years. Jake is a best friend, great neighbor, your go to travel person, father, grandfather and loving husband. He is now focusing his efforts on heart healthy nutrition, exercise and travel.