CES 2017 | Glass Age | Corning

CES® 2017

When the Ordinary becomes Extraordinary

Corning pushed boundaries and redefined possibilities at CES® 2017

At a faster pace than we’ve ever seen before, the most ordinary of everyday activities – like driving, exercising, collaborating – are transforming.

Designers and engineers continue to dissolve lines between the real and the virtual worlds. And in so doing, they’re demanding new capabilities and new levels of performance from glass components.

Corning Incorporated is creating extraordinary advanced glass technologies to enable experiences most people couldn’t even imagine just a decade ago.

CES® 2017 provided a stage for Corning to showcase its fast-evolving innovations – and gave  visitors a real-life glimpse of how they’ll live in The Glass Age.  Here’s a look at what visitors experienced in Corning's CES® 2017 booth.

Glass as your driving partner

Technology and social trends continue to reshape the automotive industry, and the trend is accelerating. Seamless connectivity is becoming the norm – as are sleek, contemporary aesthetics. By 2025, predicts Goldman Sachs, cars will be more green, more convenient, safer, and more affordable.

Plus, more cars we drive won’t even be ours. Shared cars are a growing phenomenon in urban areas. That’s where drivers will want to customize interiors with preferred controls, alerts, and smart device connections – even if they’re just driving the car for an hour.

Safety remains a top concern of drivers, too. That’s driving the development not only of internal systems like sensors and hazard alerts, but also the materials surrounding the driver and passenger.

Glass is paving the way in all these trends.

At CES® 2017, Corning debuted its breathtaking Connected Car prototype that showed how Corning® Gorilla® Glass is redefining the automotive experience.

  • The thin, lightweight Corning® Gorilla® Glass Hybrid Windshield, also featured in the windows, helps lower the overall weight of the vehicle, improving performance and increasing energy efficiency.
  • The well-known toughness of Gorilla Glass helps contribute to a safer driving experience, with up to three times the damage resistance of conventional auto glazing.
  • An augmented reality windshield seamlessly blends digital information with the physical environment. The optical brilliance of Corning® Gorilla® Glass enables a large, lifelike head-up display, providing real-time driving information so drivers can keep their eyes on the road.
  • The sleek and beautiful dashboard has an integrated display extending from edge to edge – and curved center console appears to float.  Because Gorilla Glass is so thin, it can be cold-bent – meaning that it’s flat when manufactured, but can take on new dimensions without losing residual toughness.
  • The exterior design reflects the high technology inside. Bands of Corning® Fibrance® Light-Diffusing Fiber add aesthetic flair around the front and rear bumpers. They also act as a brake alert and a charging indicator in this electric car.

Learn more about Corning's Connected Car prototype in a special segment of "Inspired by Glass."

Glass as your workout partner

People with on-the-go lifestyles want to stay fit and healthy, and industries that cater to this market are eager to meet the need. Consumers have a growing interest in truly immersive fitness experiences that offer biometric data, instant feedback, on-demand content, and customized experiences.

That’s fairly easy to get at a gym or with a personal trainer – but what about doing the same thing at home or in a hotel?

What if a wall became a multifunctional surface that could help you be better informed about your own health while you learn new skills – all without packing a bag or driving to the gym?

Glass makes this ultimate fitness experience possible.

CES visitors interacted with a life-sized mirror display for a customized workout combining augmented reality and wearable devices – two of the hottest tech trends around today.

  • Corning’s Fitness Mirror prototype features a Corning® Gorilla® Glass overlay bonded to an 85-inch 4K display with Corning® EAGLE XG® glass substrates. An embedded time-of-flight camera captures your every move, displaying outlines to help you perfect your yoga pose, much as a personal trainer would do.
  • The mirror can add information as you sweat through your workout. By synchronizing to your personal wearable device, the right-hand display on the mirror is dedicated to real-time biometric feedback updates like your heart rate or calories burned.
  • And the capacitive touch surface gives instant connectivity with other fitness resources – like a spin class or a running coach.
  • The durability of Corning® Gorilla® Glass helps the mirror stay glistening and pristine -- even with suitcase bumps and vacuum cleaner thumps.

Fitness applications are a place to start, and other applications for this mirror experience are unfolding, too. Imagine meeting with a fashion expert for styling advice – or with a physical therapist during a home session!

Learn more about Corning's Fitness Mirror prototype in a special segment of "Inspired by Glass."

Glass as your personal collaborator

Thanks to mobile devices and advanced surfaces, the division between work and home environments is continually blurring.

Rather than trying to separate the two, forward-thinking professionals are putting technology to work to better manage collaboration – whether it’s with a work team or the family at home. The result: Seamless connectivity and real-time interaction, with no regard for the walls around you.

For today’s homes, the idea of a collaboration hub is inevitable. Smart home technology is already being used in at least 20 percent of homes, with more poised to adopt it soon.  And in just five years, the typical family home could contain more than 500 smart devices.

At work, collaboration is the key to productivity and fast decision-making – and it’s now the norm,  especially for companies with global locations, suppliers, or customers.

There’s already a place where people come together to solve problems, communicate, and get things done: The table. And now the family table at home and the conference table at work can come alive to share experiences and learn more in new, exciting ways.

It’s all made possible by glass.

Two collaboration hubs greeted Corning visitors at CES® 2017, and they showcased ways to enhance personal connections in both the real and virtual world.

  • In the Collaboration Hub for the Home, an 85-inch display protected by Corning® Gorilla® Glass forms a counter-like, interactive work surface compatible with a mobile or tablet device. Editing and creating documents, playing games, sharing images, and even dashing off hand-written notes is a snap with the sensitive touch surface.
  • On the wall behind the counter, large curved LCD displays provide a telepresence experience. Colleagues can meet during work-at-home days; grandparents can check in to see baby’s first smiles.

The companion exhibit, the Collaboration Hub for the Office, also showed how advanced glass and digital technology can transform work practices and collaboration environments.

  • A work table tilts up to resemble an enormous tablet featuring Corning® Gorilla® Glass – and with all the touch-sensitive capability of a traditional tablet.
  • Two 85-inch wall displays showcase the ease of seamless connections between remote colleagues. To simulate the experience, the display was connected to the Collaboration Hub for the Home on the other side of the booth.

The immersive experience visitors enjoyed at Corning’s CES® 2017 booth was a clear demonstration of the central role glass plays in our modern lives.

And as Corning develops more and capabilities for this transformative material, glass will continue to redefine possibilities for us all.

Learn more about Corning's advanced glass technologies on display at CES® 2017 in this segment of "Inspired by Glass."