Because for reasons that are unfathomable to us today, future blenders/food processors are going to need to communicate with electric razors and WiMax-enabled steaming washers will need to announce they’ve finished their job over a radio or TV screen or even place a call on the smartphone, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has announced that the 2011 CES will have a Connected Home Appliances TechZone for just such fantasies. Or rather the initial beginnings of just such fantasies. Also assuming such fantasies do not resemble Stephen King’s “Maximum Overdrive.”
Cosponsored with the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), the Connected Home Appliances TechZone (CHATZ) will be a devoted pavilion for manufacturers of next-generation “smart” appliances, large and small.
CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro (GS) said: “We are creating this new area in response to strong demand from current and future CES exhibitors. Consumers want the ability to connect all aspects of their home, and with this desire comes the opportunity for CES exhibitors to showcase connected home appliances that will make consumers’ lives easier and more energy efficient.”
Also hitting the putative deference du jour, AHAM President Joseph McGuire (JM) said, “Smart appliances and consumer electronics will allow consumers to save money on their electric bill and use energy more environmentally friendly manner … In addition to smart grid-enabled appliances, the pavilion will showcase other products and technologies that will appeal to savvy consumers.”
Whether an algorithm will be developed to guarantee that the smart appliances cannot speak ill of or plot against their owners was not mentioned in the release.
