Per Scholas Goes to CES

From January 6 to January 9, 2015 Per Scholas Instructors Eduardo Hernandez and Opo Herrerawalked the 2.2 million net square feet of exhibit space at CES 15 in Las Vegas taking in all the newest and greatest advancements in technology. After four days and nearly 100,000 steps (they have the pictures to prove it!) we’re happy to share the most exciting tech innovations they came across. Here’s their recap:

By Eduardo Hernandez & Opo Herrera

3D Printers

3D printer manufactures were out in full force. From New York’s own MakerBot to Spain-based BQ, we were impressed. To us, BQ stood out as an awesome example of technology and education coming together. BQ manufactures the PRUSA I3 3D printer, which is a do it yourself (DIY) printer. Although it takes approximately eight hours to put together, the result is a fully functional 3D printer plus a greater knowledge of the inner workings of 3D printing technology. What better way to learn than to build your own?It gets even better. BQ also manufactures a robotic kit which includes IR sensors, bluetooth adapters and a light sensor, among other electronic equipment. These electronics can then be combined with a robot created by BQ’s 3D printer which you’ve just put together yourself. The robot can then be programmed to do a multitude of functions, allowing the user to learn even further.The following are some other cool things we saw created using 3D printers:

A 3D printed drum set. Yes, it works – it is as beautiful as it is functional.

Another masterpiece called Casa Fortunata – an architectural model with incredible detail, also created with a 3D printer.

Wireless Networks

We also encountered numerous advances in wireless technologies. During the last few years the average consumer has attempted to move away from messy wires. Linksys had a substantial presence at CES and really impressed us with some of the technologies they presented. Below we have the AC3200 TRI-Band router. It runs off two 5 Ghz bands and one 2.4 Ghz Band. What really impressed us was its capability of shifting network traffic between the two 5 GHZ bands depending on congestion. In layman’s terms, faster internet for everyone!

Mini PC’s

Computers are getting smaller and smaller. From netbooks to smartphones, our perception of what is a computer is changing. The XI3 PISTON, pictured below, is a fully modular minicomputer. It might look like a child’s toy but it is anything but. XI3 sells a server version which can support a 128GB SSD and up to 8GB of ram. All in a package that fits in the palm of your hand!