this week, finding the cracks in our infrastructure. drones finding millions of flaws humans might not. we'll look ahead to ces 2023, and debate the future of art with a talented artist. that's this week on "press: here." good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. we're going to say "damn" a lot this morning, but let me point out this is the d dam we will b talking about. is it safe? that's an important question for those who live downstream. now, normally this sort of dam would be inspected from afar, but a canadian company has

figured out how to do the same thing using drones. ryan coppersmith is a geologist. flying a drone up to a dam seems obvious. i could do that. but you're developing software to make models of this dam. that's where the insight lies, right? >> that's right, yeah. so the model we're building out is to analyze thousands of drone images, using machine learning, so we can train a computer to look at the deflects on a large dam. now we can start to understand microand macro cracks, things important for inspecting. >> are you just doing it through high definition cameras? >> optical is one.

and then thermal is a second layer. the one piece of hardware that we have developed in house is an acoustic sensor that flies around with a flying hammer test, if you will. if you're an engineer you know what that is. basically, pinging the concrete to listen to signs of failure. >> i didn't know such a hammer test existed. so seriously, engineers just whack dams with hammers and listen to it? >> yeah. it's common practice. you go around and sound the concrete, and now we can record it with microphones, really document that sound and position. compared against the baseline and classify it as potentially delaminated. >> how is this better than a

human doing it? >> traditional methods, you can imagine on a really large dam, really critical things that we need to inspect, the traditional method is either road access techniques, which is quite dangerous. so we're looking to target traditional studies. if we have a picture and resolution of an entire arch dam, we can really give that information to the engineers and owners, making the maintenance, repair and inspection decisions and look in more detail where they need to focus the repair job. just gives a better, more complete way. >> you mentioned baseline, which makes me think about the data

collected overtime. if you are using a high definition camera, you can document millions of cracks, which would be so laborious to be writing down in a notebook for an engineer. but photographs can document these cracks and go back six months, a year, five years later and see what the differences are. >> that's right, yeah. really mapping at this level of revolution, usingng t tradition techniques is impossible. you just can't get that level of documentation. and you hit the point about the baseline is where our mission is. so we want to instill that, and that can be compared against throughout the life of the structure. whether that repeated survey on an annual basis, we can now not only map all those defects on the structure but we quantify them, as well.

we map out all the defects, and through time, we can quantify the changes that have occurred. once we start to get growth rates on things like cracks, the future of our company is really becoming a predictive analytics, going into the predictive side, where we can actually see those trends and make proactive, predictive decisions. >> you can do this on runways and bridges, as well. you have all kinds of infrastructure this will work on. >> that's right. we train the computers to look at any distractions with concrete and asphalt. we come from the hydrosector, moving into the bridge and airfield sector. >> i imagine the more data you collect and the more numbers in this database, the more

knowledgeable you will become. you have bridge engineers, dam engineers looking at this information. as you inspect a thousand dams over a series of years, your data gets that much stronger as far as predictions go. >> that's right. all of this data is fed into our models, so all concretes vary a bit from place to place, type of infrastructure, and all undergo different conditions, depending on whether the climate plays a role and just load and impact. so yes, the more information we have, our database continues to grow, and we're really starting to -- we can already start to see those trends and changes. >> and your clients are mostly

government agencies. but you can convention people to become customers? >> yeah. i'm leading the strategic partnership on this, and you're right, in the u.s., the -- 90% of the dams are owned by government entities. so we have reached out to pretty much every group from the district level up to the headquarters, and we also work with local utilities that need to meet inspection cycles, inform data driven repair decisions, and so a little bit of it all. >> keep the dams safe for us, ryan. i appreciate you being w with u. "press: hehere" will b be right back.

welcome back to "press: here." your facebook or twitter is likely full of people's pictures, portraits taken by artificial intelligence to turn photographs into pretty stunning art. even more impressive is a different kind of ai called dolly, where you type in what you want to see. let's say a man with a microphone in front of a bookcase, but this time with dragons, and it creates that art

on the fly. let's try bowling on mars with cats. is it art? i'm curious to know what artists say about it. agnieszka has a show in san francisco that runs through thursday, december 22. thank you for joining us. let's start with this idea of artificially created, computer art, with no artistic input other than what the user types. total ai. what do you make of that type of art? >> yes, we've seen a lot of this in the last couple of weeks, right? i think it's technology is interesting, but i think it's a very interesting commentary

culturally what is happening, that we are in this moment where we love to use technology to highlight individualism. >> of course, technology has always had an effect on art. the camera is almost 200 years old, and artists were trying to get everything perfect, make it look like a photograph, before they knew what photographs were. along come the cameras, and they're so perfect that artists move on to other somethings like impressionism. technology has always had an effect on art. >> a lot of artists, you know, technology, being introduced into the arts. but i agree, painting too. so impressionism before artists could come, go outside, and get fresh oil painting, they had to be in their studios, mixing paint.

so ai today, it's no different. >> i hadn't thought of that, that the actual technology of literally the paint itself changed the way that people paint. this could look at the tree that they were painting. >> exactly. and then you mentioned it back then. people were accusing artists, what kind of artists are you? now, you know, artists are adopting new technologying, so it's wonderful what is happening now. >> there is ai that can do a lot of things. i was speaking with a musician, who was talking about ai that could create music, just tell it what kind of mood you want. she does music for car commercials, and you can tell the computer, give me something that evokes an afternoon drive

down a windy road near the beach, and the computer will do it. so i do understand that artists might have some concern over computers replacing what it is they do. >> yes. as an artist, there is so much work that i would like to -- i think what's going to happen is we have to adapt to new cools, and really create better work. >> speaking of tools, you use robots from boston dynamics in some of your art. but to be clear, the robots are an extension of you. the robots are painting, but it's you who is telling the robots how to move. have i got that right? >> yes, correct. there is an extension of my arm. you know, it limits how i can

paint because of the technical aspect of it. but paintings are full of mistakes and mistakes are the art, so that's what makes it interesting. it's not a printer. it's a machine in the real world. so two images are never the same. and so the paradox that you would expect from the machine that the work is competitive, it's perfect, it's identical. in fact, it's very different. plenty of mistake. and then it brings humanity closer to the machine. it's a very interesting paradox. >> now, you played with -- some very striking portraits it's able to do. >> yeah, i haven't played with it myself. but i see lots of friends that

use it. it's interesting, i do think that there is an uproar again in the art community for a very minimal amount of money, people are using models that use their data. so that said, i think everyone who is having a portrait done by ai right now, they would never go to an artist to spend money. >> it does make an appreciation for a portrait when you see yourself in a portrait, it's just rather striking and amazing. the other question i suppose that artist also have to ask is who owns the art if there is a blend of technology and art. i mean, after all, in your case, you're telling the robot what to

do, but in some ways the robot was involved, as well. it has a little piece of ownership, as well. >> yes. so portraits are very interesting. portraititure is important. it kind of follows patterns of society. i grew up in eastern europe, so it was always working men and women. i think now we will -- the future is the machine, so i like to say that i want to -- the ultimately, the machine does all

the work. >> so where do we go from here? where does art go from here? i know that's a very broad question, but what do you think? >> i don't know. i don't know. again, all the technology that's come on, we just like to explore. but this kind of technology drives it. it always has. it always follows technology. >> i appreciate you being with us this morning. her show, modernism gallery, is in san francisco and runs through thursday, december 2. and "press: here" will be back.

welcome back to "press: here." i'm a big believer in getting ready early. so my christmas presents are purchased and wrapped. now i'm thinking ahead to new years, and then the annual convention of the consumer electronic show. that is in las vegas january 5th. john kelly is vice president of ces. thanks for joining us, john. we can't say ces is back. you did have an event last year, right? >> correct. we had an event in 2021. january 2021 was a digital event. we were this past january in las

vegas. >> but definitely back with a vengeance. what sort of numbers are you looking at? is it going to be as big as prepandemic or are people still figuring out what they're doing with convention? >> actually, i spent a lot of people the past couple of months meeting with our members, meeting with exhibiters and different members of the media. and there was just this overwhelming sense of optimism, which is really exciting in the days leading up to ces. today, we're 23 days out from the show, which is hard to believe. we have over 2800 exhibiters and it continues to grow. so that's phenomenal to see. we're over 2.1 million net feet of square space, which is amazing growth. we're on track to eclipse 100,000, which is a goal we set. so to say ces is back is an understatement. we are exciting about everything we have lined up for las vegas. >> this isn't open to the public, but for those who have been, it is staggeringly big.

is it the largest convention in the world? >> it's the largest annual event in the united states. >> all right. that's big. you are talking about optimism. what about the consumer? we are in weird times. the data shows the consumer is still buying, but we're all uncertain. where does that fit in with what you're planning? >> the past couple of years have been phenomenal for the tech industry. we have seen explosive growth throughout covid. you saw the growth of the digital health industry. the new way is for the people to connect with providers. so the tech industry has seen explosive growth and you'll see that on disflay. one category is the automobile category. so transportation mobility we're expecting 300 exhibiters, an entirely sold out hall, making

it the largest auto show in north america. >> years ago on the morning news i used to do a segment called gadget friday. it would be a new camera or a new video game. but one of the reasons we discontinued it was the iphone became all of those things. it was the new camera. it was the new gps. it was the new video game. so what is there out there in consumer technology? i can think of -- you mentioned automobiles. certainly the tvs get bigger and bigger. i know every ces, there's always the smart refrigerator. what else is out there? >> automobiles are a good example. a lot of americans probably spend most of their time out of their home. so what you're seeing now is a timeless vehicle, electric vehicles on display. we're seeing a new category, electric boats.

we have a new exhibiter at ces showcasing electric boats. marine technology will be cool. food tech is another growing area at ces. so we have an area dedicated to food technologies. digital health. huge area at ces this year, so you'll see new diagnostics, new ways for people to connect to their providers. this year, we have a dedicated area on the show floor for metaverse, covering everything from block chain technologies, digital assets. and the gaming industry really kind of -- when the metaverse became a thing last year, it was talked about. so you'll see that hardware on display. but what we're seeing is new applications, business applications for the metaverse. so for instance, last week or

two weeks ago, i was in detroit meeting. they were talking about a partnership where they will be basically designing the show room of the future in the metaverse. so you'll see several of these business applications beyond just gaming. >> are you surprised that you anticipated my last question about virtual reality and the metaverse. are you surprised it has taken this long? i couldn't tell you somebody outside of me who has a vr headset, and i have one because i want to understand the industry. you know, a few years ago, we talked about 3-d television, and that never took off. there are some technologies that don't just take off. are you surprised at the consumer who has an xbox or a big tv, all these sorts of

things, doesn't have vr? >> i think -- i don't know if that's necessarily true. so kids in their early teens and teenagers, they're interacting in the metaverse, in these gaming environments. so that's how they connect with their friends and learn in a learning environment, as well. that's how they experience the world and that will continue to grow. so that's a really cool opportunity to see is this younger generation, which will be driving somewhat the adoption of the metaverse. >> there will be a day which ces is all done through the metaverse? >> you can't replace the in-person experience. i know you eve been to ces many times. so just the opportunity to see and touch and feel products, you can't replace that. the other thing you can't replace is the serendipitous moments. so it starts with a conversation with somebody, it leads to a

partnership or an interesting discussion. that happens throughout. so that can't be replaced. >> excellent. i wish you the best of luck this early january. john kelly is the vice president of ces and "press: here" will be right back.

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