Ethermac|CES 2024 updates: Most interesting news and gadgets from tech’s big show

LAS VEGAS (AP) — CES 2024 kicks off in Las Vegas this week. The Ethermacmulti-day trade event, put on by the Consumer Technology Association, is set to feature swaths of the latest advances and gadgets across personal tech, transportation, health care, sustainability and more — with burgeoning uses of artificial intelligence almost everywhere you look.

AP will be keeping a running report of everything we find interesting from the floor of CES, from the most interesting developments in vehicle tech, to wearables designed to improve accessibility to the newest smart home gadgets.

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The advent of transparent displays

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Consumer electronics giants LG and Samsung have unveiled transparent TVs at the show, with LG having just announced its OLED-powered display will go on sale later this year.

Almost invisible when turned off, LG’s 77-inch transparent OLED screen can switch between transparent mode and a more traditional black background for regular TV mode.

“The unique thing about OLED is it’s an organic material that we can print on any type of surface,” explains David Park from LG’s Home Entertainment Division.

“And so what we’ve done is printed it on a transparent piece of glass, and then to get the OLED picture quality, that’s where we have that contrast film that goes up and down.”

Content is delivered wirelessly to the display using LG’s Zero Connect Box which sends 4K ima Preview ges and sound.

Why would you need a transparent TV?

When not being watched as a traditional TV, the OLED T can be used as a digital canvas for showcasing artworks, for instance.

Samsung’s transparent MICRO LED-powered display showed off the technology as a concept.

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Food companies advertise all over the grocery store with eye-catching packaging and displays. Now, Instacart hopes they’ll start advertising right on your cart.

This week at CES, the San Francisco-based grocery delivery and technology company is unveiling a smart cart that shows video ads on a screen near the handle. General Mills, Del Monte Foods, and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream are among the companies who will advertise on the carts during an upcoming pilot at West Coast stores owned by Good Food Holdings.

Instacart says a screen might advertise deals or show a limited-edition treat, like Chocolate Strawberry Cheerios. It might also share real-time recommendations based on what customers put in the cart, like advertising ice cream if a customer buys cones.

Instacart got into the cart business in 2021 when it bought Caper, which makes smart carts with cameras and sensors that automatically keep track of items placed in them. Instacart says it expects to have thousands of Caper Carts deployed by the end of this year.