Shown at CES were spatial interfaces, 150 inch plasma TV screens, wireless HD TVs, games that use an individual’s brain waves (EEG) through a headset to navigate a ball through an obstacle course (Mattel Mind Flex). Also previewed were devices that can recharge or power any electrical device without a physical connection, and cutting edge touch screens. As amazing at is may seem, all of the above were at the show and working! Here are some additional details:
 
• The spatial interface is an experimental technology being developed by Toshiba that senses where you are and then enables you to interact with a computer—no keyboard, no mouse. All that is needed is you. At the show, a sensor in the wall-mounted flat-panel screen determined where you were. When you approached, you had to stand in front of the screen for a short moment so it could calibrate you and your location. Then, when you moved your hand and pointed to an icon on the screen, the display reacted to your movement and displayed the desired content—sort of like Nintendo’s Wii.
 
• The wireless electrical power interface called “ecoupled” uses an embedded chip and coil design developed by Fulton Innovation. It can literally power any appropriately fitted device or appliance without an electrical connection (formerly referred to as a plug). Imagine a coffee table that can constantly charge your television remote, wireless handset phone and your cell phone just by placing the device “ON” the coffee table.
 
• Touch technology is also leading the pack in the form of the emerging media phone (Open Peak Inc., http://www.openpeak.com, in conjunction with Intel) and touch screen technology that goes way beyond the hand-held devices that are popular today. Media phones essentially are base units and handsets using 3G communications that integrate Voice over IP, digital content, personal content (such as contact lists), internet cameras, and more all through a touch screen technology. 
 
Where is all of this leading? For perspective, it is not just thinking outside of the box that fuels innovation, as much as it is seeing outside the box. All of the technology showcased at CES is concept turned reality that was inspired through the vision of the creator. It does not take much to realize the commercial potential of these innovations. This same statement applies to the financial industry and goes hand in hand with the compelling need to remain relevant to the “digital natives”—the segment of the population born after 1985, which has been exposed to technology starting at a very young age.
 
In the context of the new technology, touch screen devices connected to servers, such as the products showcased by Touch Revolution (http://www.touchrev.com), can eliminate the traditional in-lobby service kiosk and do so at a fraction of the cost (as low as $2,500 for a table-top unit plus Java programming).
 
And if the unit was configured with Toshiba’s spatial interface, the customer could walk in, stand in front of the screen and pause to let it calibrate, and then access product info, a bank directory, or ask for directions. No technology is needed from the users perspective.
 
Media phones can allow a user to switch offices or cubical locations at a moment’s notice without having to move or reconnect “twisted pair” wires of traditional phones.
 
Wireless power devices mean you can hang flat panel monitors anywhere, much like artwork, or you can recharge your cell phone just by sitting at the right table for lunch.
 
Mattel’s Mind Flex is a toy now (http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/09/video-mattel-mind-flex-hands-and-heads-on), but imagine your internet bank being powered by an encrypted EEG interface that will allow the disabled to access and conduct their online banking just by thinking!
 
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas should be a required venue for every financial institution executive team, marketing team, and technology team to experience before they create a strategic plan, a major marketing campaign or significant technology implementation. The experience could put your organization years ahead of the competition and, depending on your institution’s size, save thousands, if not millions in technology spending. 
 
In essence, financial institutions should develop an internal initiative that re-establishes creative control and innovation within the organization. The suggestion is to take a leapfrog approach to traditional technology thinking and visit the CES. You’ll be amazed, surprised and inspired! BJ

About the author. Dan Fisher is president and CEO of The Copper River Group. A consulting firm headquartered in Fargo, N.D., that focuses on technology and payment systems research and consulting for community financial institutions. For nearly 30 years, Fisher has worked in the financial industry using technology to improve the bottom line. He has served as a director of the Federal Reserve Board of Minneapolis and the chairman of the American Bankers Association’s Payment Systems Committee among other positions. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
[This article was posted on January 16, 2009, on the website of ABA Banking Journal, www.ababj.com, and is copyright 2009 by the American Bankers Association.]

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