The Consumer Electronics Show was held in Las Vegas again this year from 5th to 8th January 2017. Together with CeBIT, Computex, IFA and the Mobile World Congress, the CES is one of the most important events across the world for the IT sector, ringing in the year for the technology branch. It attracts roughly 150,000 visitors, who visit the stalls of more than 3,000 exhibitors. We were in the midst of it again this year, finding out about the latest trends and innovations in the branch.
Lots of highlights and trends
Once again, this year’s technical trade fair CES offered several new products and highlights. Renowned manufacturers and promising startups at the CES in Las Vegas showcased their products aimed at making our life more pleasant, exciting and entertaining in the years to come. From autonomous driving to robotics, drones, wearables, creating prototypes with 3D printing and smart home a lot was on offer this year. The idea of getting connected is everywhere you look.
Image: LG OLED TV Display. Source: CES.
One of the trends we noticed at the CES is using 3D printing for prototyping, which is considerably less expensive than using injection moulds. This is becoming possible as production becomes less and less expensive. Products are becoming more and more individual as a result, the product portfolio is becoming ever wider and product diversity is expanding at an incredible rate. Increasing divergence is sure to leave many people faced with a virtually insurmountable challenge when it comes to stocking the growing number of products in their own warehouses. We are extremely glad to have our Marketplace. Find out more here.
Another significant trend is the topic of wearables. An ever greater variety of products is becoming available. Smartwatches are no longer only available with dark displays, but as an attractive product with a number of different functions and as a hybrid product with an analogue clock and digital display. The sensors are becoming smaller and smaller, being incorporated into clothing and shoes. More on wearables here.
The focus was also on drones. These were available in all different price categories and for all different uses. A driving licence for drones was under discussion, we will need to wait and see if this becomes common practice in the market. Click here for more information about drones at the CES.
Huge developments have been made in the area of smarthome, with connected products such as lighting, motion sensors and a lot more besides. However, these always use proprietary systems, there is no flow between systems, and not every supplier is good for every component. Click here for more about smarthome.
Other interesting trends included, for example, an advertising pillar with a curved display and robotics with much improved sensors in products, but the most important topic was automobile. A number of German car manufacturers were exhibiting, focussing on electromobility and autonomous driving. Here is a brief impression.
Image: VW shows where the journey is taking us.
Image: Nissan is also going down new avenues in the area of mobility.
Image: The curved advertising pillar from LG Oled looks very futuristic.
CES 2017 in summary
Our conclusion is that an ever greater range of increasingly individual products is becoming available. We are extremely glad that we have our Marketplace. From a German perspective, it is nice to see what a leading role German car manufacturers are taking compared to Asian and US manufacturers when it comes to autonomous driving, with the exception of Tesla of course.
The highlights of the trade fair are available here as a video:
