Monoprice wows us with the gargantuan (and very quiet) Delta Pro 3D printer

Just a few short years ago, Monoprice wasn’t even in the 3D printer market, and was instead focusing on its expansive accessory business. Fast-forward to today, and the company is now the top 3D printer manufacturer in the world, and the entry-level $200 Select Mini is the best-selling 3D printer by a factor of three.

Don’t think for a minute that Monoprice is stopping there, however. Shane Igo, the company’s vice president of product management, stopped by the Digital Trends booth at CES 2018 on Thursday morning to detail Monoprice’s efforts, as well as show updates to the best-sellling Mini and introduce a massive new 3D printer called the Delta Pro.

Starting with the third-generation Mini, Igo says Monoprice focused on making improvements that will further solidify its lead in the market — most notably its “out-of-the-box” operation. Version 3 also adds auto-leveling (especially important for beginners) and a touchscreen, making it easier to operate than ever before.

What we’re really excited about is the Delta Pro, however. This massive printer takes the build area of the Mini and increases it by 10 times. This allows for printing of much taller objects, and at a price of around $1,000, it will be one of the largest print areas at that price point.

If you remember the Delta, which we reviewed late last year and debuts in April for $159 (and was one of our CES 2017 award winners), the Delta Pro also uses the same configuration where the print head is suspended by three arms that can better move it through three-dimensional space. It’s not a new concept — some other companies are already using it — but it definitely speeds up printing.

Igo said a 9-foot-tall vase that he was printing would be complete in about three hours, versus the six to eight hours it would take with traditional 3D printing methods. Another thing about the Delta? It’s really quiet. According to Igo, it produces only 44 decibels of noise, practically unheard of in this industry, no pun intended.

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The best drones we saw (and flew) at CES 2018

Every year, drones seem to dominate more and more showfloor space at CES — and 2018 was no different. This year we saw drones of all shapes, sizes, and purposes. But what were our favorites? Glad you asked. Here’s a quick rundown of all the best drones at CES 2018.

The iPal is a cute robot companion for the young and old alike

Robots are a contentious topic these days. Some people worry about their capacity to erase jobs (or even humanity), others view them as the latest tool in mankind’s quest to make life and labor easier. The iPal will surely appeal to proponents of the latter view. It’s an adorable, childlike robot built to aid some of the most vulnerable members of society: children and the elderly.

At CES 2018, Digital Trends spoke to John Ostrem, co-founder of Avatarmind, the company behind the iPal, in order to understand what lies behind its cute facade. “It’s a fully functional, humanoid robot with lots of sensors, features, and a number of applications that we’re focusing on,” Ostrem said. The priorities for Avatarmind are children, elder care, and retail operations. The robot runs Android, and users can install apps to customize iPal for their uses.

Standing three-and-a-half-feet tall and made of round shapes, touched with pastel colors, the iPal has a friendly appearance that’s perfect for appealing to kids. Parents can outfit the robot with apps that allow it to teach children, or entertain them with song and dance. The iPal is equipped with a camera, and parents can operate it remotely, checking in on their kids and controlling the robot’s movements.

The iPal can also be useful for helping the elderly, providing companionship and security alerts in case of emergencies. Consumers in the United States can currently buy a developer model, with a consumer version slated for mid-2018.

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Coffee table-sized mechanical ‘Pong’ makes its official debut at CES

Back in the halcyon days of mid-2016, we published an article about a bunch of friends who had banded together to create a largely mechanical, coffee table-sized version of Atari’s legendary 1970s game Pong.

As it turns out, we weren’t the only ones who did. In fact, the story went viral, and Gerardo Orioli and his Uruguayan cohorts were quickly bombarded with requests from people wanting to deck their man caves (and presumably a few woman caves, too) with their own copies.

Jump forward nearly two years, and they are ready to deliver on that demand, as evident from their presence at this year’s CES.

“After the viral success, we decided to move forward with the next set of challenges,” Orioli told Digital Trends last year. “We secured an investor to further our research, and obtained an exclusive license with Atari. We built more prototypes and perfected the functionality and performance in our design. Now we are ready for the next stage.”

The company launched the nostalgia-inducing product on Kickstarter in late-March, quickly garnering more than $300,000 in crowdfunding revenue — nearly 30 percent more than the initial funding goal and enough to begin mass production.

As you can see from the video at the top of this page, the concept is pretty darn rad. The original used magnets and metal bars for the movement of the game pieces, while scoring was carried out using Arduino controllers and simple LED displays. The Kickstarter version builds on that design but adds an extra level of polish.

Pong being the most pick-and-play game this side of Tetris, users can expect a fun, straightforward gaming experience — although, from the sound of things, putting the physical table together wasn’t always so easy.

“Our biggest challenge was to find the right balance between the forces that re-create the 2D movement and illusion of the game,” Orioli continued. “We had to deal with two different kinds of forces: Magnetic and friction. In order to control them, we had to variate the motor’s speeds and accelerations to achieve the right balance; otherwise, the ‘ball’ would fly out of reach. A lot of research was put into trying different motors and different setups, and into choosing the right magnets and surfaces.”

The company is in the final stages of production and expects to start shipping the final product to backers in March. Additional retail units will be sold during the first quarter of 2018 for $2,800.

“We’ve gotten a lot of interest from people,” Walter Nogara, one of the original team members behind the table, said at CES. “From the Kickstarter era until now, when we have the real product here, it’s been quite the experience.”

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Uniz’s new line of 3D printers bring astonishing levels of speed

Having debuted its impressive Slash 3D printer, capable of printing 50 times faster than other models, at CES 2016, manufacturers Uniz are back at the Consumer Electronics Show again — and  they have some more impressive tech to demonstrate! The California-based company has lifted the lid on a new series of 3D printers, this time promising speeds of hundreds of times that of conventional 3D printers. To do this, it uses a technique called “Uni-Directional Peeling” (UDP), which minimises the peel time of the conventional layered stereolithography (SLA) process. As its creators note, “by reducing the up-and-down peel to one-directional peel action, UDP sets a new world record of 3D printing speed to over 700mm/hour z-axis speed, without the necessity of pure oxygen or exotic separation materials.”

There are four new models in all, each aimed at a slightly different audience, but still capable of demonstrating the impressive new speed Uniz is so proud of. The first of these printers is the Slash+, a direct follow-up to the groundbreaking first-generation model, which is now able to achieve astonishing printing speeds of 640mm per hour in z-axis build speed. The Slash OL, meanwhile, is aimed at a more entry-level segment of the market and comes with a price tag of less than $1,000. It has an XY resolution up to 150μm, and is reportedly 500 times faster than FDM machines at a similar price point.

Then there is the Slash Pro, which increases the build volume of the Slash+. The Slash Pro is reportedly able to output a full-size adult shoe-sole in under 40 mins. Last, but certainly not least, is the zSLTV15, which features an 89μ XY resolution, build envelope of 330 x 190 x 410mm, and incredibly rapid print speeds. This one is aimed squarely at industrial use.

Needless to say, if you’re into your 3D printing all four of these are immensely exciting in their own way. If you’re interested in getting your hands on one or more models, you can place a pre-order on Kickstarter. Prices start at $649 for a new Slash OL and run up to $7,499 for the zSLTV15. Shipping is set to take place in the middle of 2018.

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China’s Tuya expands its reach further with launch of IoT platform for the U.S.

Tuya, one of the world’s largest and most widespread Internet of Things (IoT) OS providers, landed in the United States with a flourish this week via its launch of a U.S. version of its Tuya Smart platform. This turnkey solution could help manufacturers transform standard products into IoT products within a matter of days.

The Tuya Smart system offers hardware access, cloud services, and app development in a synchronized end-to-end process that, at its fastest, can create controlling apps for products in minutes. The platform also boasts the ability to turn a standard product into a smart one within 24 hours, as well as enable manufacturers to launch mass production within two weeks.

This visible presence at CES 2018 marks the company’s ambitious efforts to export its capabilities to global manufacturers in order to take advantage of the visible growth of the IoT market in the U.S. Its approach also offers U.S. manufacturers a head start in the international market through the use of Tuya’s global platform. Products powered by Tuya can ship to any market and adapt to different countries’ requirements.

“Build Internet of Things, Effortlessly” is Tuya’s mission, and to say they’ve gained a foothold in the IoT market would be a vast understatement. The company’s partners already include Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit, among others. Since its establishment in Hangzhou, China in 2014, Tuya has served more than 10,000 customers in nearly 200 countries, working on products including smart power accessories, lighting and household appliances, and surveillance equipment.

“From homes and schools, to offices and factories, smart living will become a norm in the highly connected IoT world of the future. Tuya hopes to be the ‘gateway’ to this smart world, serving as the A.I. and IoT catalyst for manufacturers, and helping them to bring smart devices to consumers faster and more efficiently,” said Jerry Wang, founder and CEO of Tuya. “We see tremendous business potential in the connected lifestyle, where data understands everyone’s needs, preferences, and habits.”

“The U.S. market is of significant importance to us with the popularity of the likes of Amazon Echo and Google Home,” said Alex Yang, Tuya’s co-founder and chief operating officer in charge of the company’s overseas expansion. “Both Amazon and Google are already our partners, and we hope to bring our capabilities to more U.S. manufacturers via the launch of our U.S. platform at CES. This is part of our ongoing commitment to the market.”

Both exectives came from the team that worked previously for Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant that has become one of the largest and most valuable companies in the world. This core team members held key roles in the development of Alibaba’s AliYun, now a function of Alibaba Cloud, the company’s cloud computing division, as well as QR code projects that morphed into Alipay, a mobile payment technology. In 2017, Tuya announced that it had raised tens of millions of dollars from lead investors including China International Capital, Oriental Fortune Capital, New Enterprise Associates, and Quadrill Xapital.

Tuya exhibited hundreds of smart products at CES including power accessories, lighting, household appliances, surveillance equipment, and kitchen appliances. The company also debuted a range of smart home technologies such as Bluetooth mesh resolution and A.I. camera technology.

In addition to hardware interfaces, Tuya is one of the leading developers of A.I. functionalities, one aspect of the business that boosts the company’s ability to enable manufacturers to pivot to smart devices affordably and quickly. Its automated ap- generation service enables firms to design and develop their own distinctive app within minutes. By the end of 2017, Tuya Smart had supplied A.I. services covering a wide spectrum of home appliances to more than 10,000 customers across six continents. Tuya Smart currently processes over 6 million A.I. interactions per day and has accumulated over one petabyte of storage.

Headquartered in Hangzhou, Tuya also has a significant presence in Silicon Valley, as well as data centers in Portland (Oregon), Frankfurt and Hangzhou. Following the U.S. launch, Tuya Smart will target parts of Europe and Japan for further expansion.

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We played around with Nvidia’s Holodeck software at CES 2018

While it’s not quite like what you’d find on the USS Enterprise, Nvidia showed off its Holodeck virtual reality experience at CES 2018.

Nvidia Senior Technical Marketing Analyst Joe Vivoli gave us a demo of the software at the Nvidia CES booth. Our first question was, naturally, just what is Holodeck? You won’t be loading up life-like environments to get lost in; instead, users will be able to engage in collaborative design while in VR. “The idea is you bring in a very complex model into virtual reality space,” Vivoli said. “You and your buddies get into your VR headsets, and you work together to do some design mockups on a very intricate model.”

These models can be anything from 3D models you’ve made, to CAD files directly from a manufacturer for super-fine detail. Holodeck currently supports 3Ds Max and Maya, two of the most popular 3D modeling programs.

The demo at the Nvidia booth featured the model of a Volkswagon bus that had been scanned into a 3D program, the loaded into Holodeck, which showed off just how finite you can get with the models. You will be able to get as finite as the literal nuts and bolts. This has the potential to make something like automotive design, which could be done with people across the world simultaneously through a virtual space.

Holodeck is exciting, but it is currently hard to get your hands on. VR programs are known for having high hardware requirements, but Holodeck is particularly resource-intensive. The software on display on the show floor was running on a PC equipped with a Titan XP graphics card, Nvidia’s most powerful GPU to date. You will at the very least need GTX 1080 Ti, which is the second most powerful graphics card currently made by Nvidia.

Holodeck is currently in open-beta early access. If you are curious, you can head over to Nvidia’s official Holodeck page and sign up to get access — just make sure you have the specs to run it first.

Be sure to check out the rest of our CES 2018 coverage for our news about VR.

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With Google Assistant, Electron Wheel turns any bike into a souped-up ebike

Building off the success of cyclist Max Lipper’s 2,800 mile Electron Wheel bike trek from New York City to this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Electron launched the second-generation of its electric bike wheel at the 2018 trade show.

Promising to “electrify your bike in 30 seconds,” the Electron Wheel replaces the front wheel of most bikes and instantly transforms an ordinary bicycle into a modified ebike. The Electron Wheel does this through a variety of features that includes active hill assist, a top speed of 20 miles per hour, and a battery that lasts up to 50 miles of range.

It even has Google Assistant integration that allows riders to find directions with ease while riding. Google Assistant also allows riders to modify the amount of electronic assist they are getting from the Electron Wheel and learn about its battery power.

“We are taking the experience from the smart home or connected car and bringing it to the bike,” James Parker of Electron told Digital Trends. “You get all of the features of the app but [don’t] have to worry about having the dashboard on the handlebars. You can have the phone in your pocket, or in your backpack and say things like, ‘Hey Google, what’s my battery status?’ or [even] toggle between the different assist modes.”

Now available online for pre-order, the second-generation Electron Wheel sells for $799 and is expected to start being shipped out in February.

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As Alexa, Google Assistant dominate CES, Apple and Microsoft face tough decisions

The last thing Microsoft expected to do at CES this year was defend its existence in the virtual assistant space, but that’s exactly what has transpired. While the company did have a few announcements, including most notably the sleek Glas smart thermostat, it was blindsided by a bevy of other announcements about placing Alexa on Windows 10 PCs from HP, Lenovo, Asus and Acer later this year.

While it never has had a true presence at CES, Apple is feeling the heat, too. Its HomePod smart speaker is still vaporware, with no release date other than “early 2018.” Apple claims it needs more time to perfect the product.

While all of this is going on, Amazon and Google Assistant continue to wipe the show floor with the competition at CES, as its partners announce integration with everything from kitchen faucets by Delta to a Kohler-produced bathroom mirror and 4K projectors from Optoma.

This leaves both Microsoft and Apple in a tough position. Has the virtual assistant segment of the market essentially been cornered by Amazon and Google? Arguably, yes. Look at the number of skills: Microsoft’s Cortana has roughly 230 skills available at last count, whereas Amaon’s Alexa has 25,000.

With Apple — as usual — it comes down to price. The HomePod is expected to retail for $349. That’s $120 more than the Echo Show, which is Amazon’s top-of-the-line device that also boasts a screen. While HomeKit has been a recent focus for Apple, our own experiences with it have been less than stellar.

Apple’s high prices

While Alexa isn’t perfect, we find ourselves having more trouble getting Siri to control our smart home than we do with Alexa, so we’ve all but stopped using Siri for home control altogether. We can’t imagine we’re the only ones with these issues, or who has given up on HomeKit as a means of smart home control.

Now comes the tough love. For Microsoft, the Alexa PC integration is most problematic. Windows 10 was supposed to be Cortana’s domain. While Alexa is not replacing Cortana on these machines, her presence — as well as the fact you can wake her just the same as you would an Echo device — seems like it will only be too easy to rely on Alexa instead of Cortana.

That’s sad. Even though I consider myself a ‘Mac guy,’ my experiences with Cortana have been nearly all positive. From the perspective of understanding context and queries intuitively, Microsoft has done a way better job than anybody else. At the same time, Cortana’s smart home support stinks, regardless of the announcements at CES 2018. Its presence in smart speakers is equally meager, with Harman Kardon’s Invoke really the only one worth purchasing.

Apple’s problem, as noted earlier, is price. The HomePod is a beautiful speaker, really. But with the HomeKit’s temperamental nature and the HomePod’s sky-high price, we’d rather buy several Echoes and have whole-house sound. We’re also not clear if Apple is truly serious about Siri outside of its computing products; it seems more of an added benefit rather than a central feature.

What’s next?

So where do we go from here? That’s up to these companies. Microsoft has a history of getting into markets late (Zune, mobile phones, for example) and giving a half-hearted effort, wasting hundreds of millions in the process. Apple also likes to enter markets late, but to its credit, it  introduces products that are compelling enough to buy — but only if you have the money.

The digital assistant race has very much become a race to the bottom when it comes to price, and a competition to integrate with as many devices as possible. On either point, these are areas where these companies have either not done enough to support their efforts or shown an odd reluctance to do so.

If Microsoft or Apple really want to compete, this is what they’ll have to do. Because Amazon and Google sure looks like they’re playing for keeps.

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Stellina smart telescope from Vaonis lets you take pictures of the universe

“The goal of this project is to make astronomy more accessible to everyone,” said Vaonis CEO Cyril Dupus. “We can easily take wonderful pictures with drones, and with GoPro, but nothing exists to take pictures of the universe. So we have created it.”

He’s talking about the newest addition to the telescope family — Stellina. While traditional telescopes can be difficult to use and install, Stellina offers up a simple, more user-friendly way to gaze into the heavens.

With app connectivity, this new-age telescope makes collecting gorgeous images of the stars easier than ever before. All you have to do is set up its tripod, press the power button, and choose from hundreds of suggestions directly from your smartphone. It only takes a few seconds for Stellina to position itself, take a picture, and send the image directly to your phone or computer. From there, you can share these photos on Facebook or Twitter, or just save them for a rainy day.

Take a look at a few of the images Stellina has already taken:

Stellina is also very compact. With its lightweight design, you can slip this telescope into a backpack, head to a remote location, and take wonderful pictures of the night sky. No matter where you travel, you’ll always be able to save your favorite images and share the beauty of the stars with the ones you love.

“There is no eyepiece, because with an eyepiece, you have to observe alone,” said Cyril Dupus, speaking to the connectivity Stellina provides.

You can reserve your own Stellina from the company’s website, which is offering a $500 discount for CES. With a price tag of $2,499, this smart telescope may be out of reach for the average consumer, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

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