Milano-based Voiseed demonstrated its web-based Revoiceit platform at CES, pitched as the best way to manage synthetic voice actors, particularly ensuring that synthetic voices present realistic emotions. The company describes it as a cloud-based solution that uses “generative AI to infuse virtual voices with human emotions and prosody, creating highly expressive, lifelike audio experiences.” While Revoiceit’s most obvious feature is its Studio (imagine Adobe Audition devoted to second-by-second management of voices), it may well be the product’s forthcoming API that provides real value to developers of entertaining technology products. Read more

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric spoke with CTA Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs Rachel Nemeth during CES 2024 about the challenges of extending safety to products that are constantly evolving and incorporating new technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Nemeth pointed out that the agency’s authorizing statute was enacted in 1972 and was last amended in 2008. “We’re doing a lot of good work with the statute we have,” Hoehn-Saric responded. “But we’re changing the way we operate. We talk a lot about machine learning and AI.” Read more

CTA Vice President of International Trade Ed Brzytwa discussed the sensitive topic of foreign investment transactions with U.S. Department of the Treasury Assistant Secretary for Investment Security Paul Rosen, who runs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). Rosen stated that CFIUS was established almost 50 years ago and has been reauthorized by Congress many times. “The mission is to review foreign investments that come into U.S. businesses for national security risks,” he said. “We’re looking to assess who’s getting access to sensitive U.S. assets or getting control of a U.S. company.” Read more

While entertainment and telepresence are considered the most clear uses for virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR), several developers at CES 2024 demonstrated why in the short term, it may be that counterintuitive uses of extended reality (XR) as assistive technologies for visually impaired people provide the best case for its existence. The show demonstrated impressive ways to address macular degeneration, to assist in outdoor activities and to “read the room.” Two particular companies — Ocutrx and Lumen — showcased interesting headsets that may also point to a variety of entertainment, military, medical and enterprise applications. Read more

While technology for immersive visual content has (for now) settled on stereoscopic headsets with two little high-resolution screens behind two little lenses, at CES in Las Vegas this week four different developers presented four different approaches to realistic haptic feedback for arms and hands. Buzzing, squeezing and zapping are all on offer, with fundamentally different business and technology models. New haptic products from companies such as Afference, bHaptics, Valkyrie Industries and Microtube Technologies suggest we may be slowly getting closer to more physically-engaging immersive experiences. Read more