This year’s International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) was held in Las Vegas from 6th to 9th January. With an attendance of over 170,000 visitors and 3,600 exhibitors (c.f. 160,000 and 3,200 for last year), it was the largest show in the event’s history.
Much of the excitement at this year’s event was centered on the Internet of Things (IoT); this is expected to have a huge impact on a broad range of industries as more and more products and devices become connected to the internet.
Demonstrating the potential significance of this market is that new, competing IoT platforms from Apple, Google and Samsung were all represented at CES 2015; Google acquired Nest Labs almost a year ago, Samsung bought SmartThings last August and Apple’s first release of their HomeKit platform came with iOS 8 in September. There were a range of devices supporting each of these platforms present.
Away from these major tech companies, there were many other IoT products on display targeted at the domestic market (as well as other industrial and commercial products); for instance, several appliances manufacturers were demonstrating smart connected “white goods” appliances.
There were also many different types of wearables on display, such as fitness trackers, health sensors and smartwatches. These generated a great deal of interest and this promises to become another very large market segment.
Other smart Bluetooth® “appcessories” on display included the “Noke” smart padlock and Bragi’s “The Dash” TruWireless in-ear stereo earbuds that also act as a fitness tracker. CSR also “[lit] up Las Vegas’ nightlife with CSRmesh™ glow sticks”; this rather cool demonstration of their Bluetooth mesh technology can be viewed on YouTube here.
Away from IoT products and wearables, there were (as ever) many of the latest TVs on display; this year, the emphasis seemed to be on bigger, brighter, sharper, thinner and smarter displays. Various companies were demonstrating their latest VR (Virtual Reality) creations and drones were also well represented.
A number of companies had 3D printers on display; these might not have hit the mainstream yet but the technology is certainly advancing. This year saw printers that can work with materials such as metal, wood, stone, nylon and even chocolate.
Several car manufacturers showed off cars with autonomous features – from futuristic self-driving concept cars to real-world-right-now self-parking and collision-avoidance capabilities.
Finally, we were pleased to see that one of our clients has, again, won a number of “CES best of” awards for products that we co-developed with them.