I’m just catching up with an interesting take on CES from John Gerzema, the long-time agency strategist who for the last several years has been CEO at Stagwell’s Harris Poll. 

He was on the ground at the conference last week and in his report, which he posted on LinkedIn, he focused on innovative tech gadgets launching this year and which he believes will “solve real human problems.”  

One that I found particularly interesting, given all the miscommunication in the world today is the X1 Interpreter Hub by Timekettle a provider of real-time voice translation solutions and hardware. It facilitates real-time language translation via earbuds and AI for up to thirty people. 

As Gerzema notes, the Hub “goes beyond simple translation by providing a tool that instantly allows people speaking different languages to communicate and connect without barriers – important in a world with thousands of spoken languages.”  

That’s needed more than ever today and apparently the judges at CES agreed—it is a 2024 Innovation Award Honoree. 

With heightened awareness and concern about food industry sustainability and what ingredients are in the food we consume Gerzema highlighted the AI Food Scanner 3.0 by Nuvilab. He notes that it “recognizes and analyzes food instantly, offering tailored nutrition reports, menu suggestions, and insights into food waste and carbon footprints.” The scanner, he adds, “benefits both diners and operators, spanning from plate to farm.” 

He cites a stat from Feeding America that people waste 80 million tons of food each year, or about 149 billion meals. That’s a problem, especially when so many other people don’t have enough food to eat, let alone food to waste.  

To check out more of Gerzema’s insightful CES takeaways, have a look here. 

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