What was once possible only via offline cloud computing servers is now built into the cameras themselves. Thus one should expect future security cameras to include not only the video feed but also meta data about objects and people in the scene they are scanning. WHY IT MATTERS: Artificial Intelligence is getting into devices everywhere. This is a review of the state of the art with AI-powered security cameras as seen at the CES consumer electronic show in Vegas recently.

There is great enthusiasm for the smart city concept. Integration of autonomous vehicles, drones and networked communications are expected to manage congestion, lead to fewer accidents, reduce pollution and enhance quality of life. The smart city was a major theme at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (#CES2018), hosted by the Consumer Technology Association. Will smart cities be vibrant bastions of competitive private free enterprise and innovative new networks of communication that simultaneously respect individuals' privacy? Or are planners on a path to setting up mega public utilities and administered cartelization, and compulsory information collection?

The 2018 Nissan Leaf receives CES2018 Tech For a Better World Innovation Award. CES2018, the Consumer Technology Association's massive annual expo, was full of self driving electric and augmented cars. Every hardware startup should visit CES before they build anything. It has to be the most humbling experience any small robotics startup could have. CES2018 is what big marketing budgets look like. And as robotics shifts more and more to consumer facing, this is what the competition looks like.

Quartz's time at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has come to a close, and we've reflected on a week of being inundated with gadgets, technology, and pitches. Below is a list of which companies we believe won CES, which tried the hardest, and which embodied the spirit of the world's largest consumer electronics show. Rather than a breakout startup or one gadget that blew the show floor away, the talk of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show were the mishaps of the show--the failed demonstrations, the flooding of Vegas and the subsequent power outages in one of the main halls. But in the background, one company solidified itself as a stalwart contender for winning the year: Nvidia. The company announced that it had a new chip custom-built for self-driving cars, and that it was working with more than 320 partners who would use the technology to power their vehicles. It also announced a gaming monitor the size of a television, creating a new class of large-screen devices with the refresh speed required for professional gaming.

Autonomous vehicles, drones, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, robotics and smart cities are among the hottest topics at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. The rise of the machines is unavoidable: Our future will include robots as companions and co-workers. Below (and in the slideshow above) are just a few that caught my eye on the show floor. Called an empathetic robotic device, Honda unveiled the A18, which is a companion robot. The A18 has a face that can recognize and emulate emotions and respond to the emotions its companion shows.