After years of scheduling issues and a global pandemic, 2023 will forever be marked as the year I was finally able to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and, boy, was it worth the wait. Not only is CES a great place to see our global member companies displaying their products, but it’s also THE spot to get the chance to meet new, innovative companies and get a handle on what the future will look like as consumer-centric technology continues to drive the app economy.
Eureka Park
Throughout my time at CES, there was nothing I enjoyed more than walking the floor and exploring the amazing innovations being created at every level within the app ecosystem. Drawn to their innate ability to be agile businesses, pivoting on a dime to solve entirely new problems at a moment’s notice, I found myself gravitating towards the startups and smaller businesses on the floor in Eureka Park.
Eureka Park, the designated startup area at CES that is actually an entire convention center separate from the main floor, had enterprises from countries around the world including France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea. Two major tech trends stood out from the rest of the unique innovations throughout the startup area and those were ag-tech and accessibility-focused digital health technology. Strap Tech and their Ara Band, for example, is a haptic-feedback-based wearable for blind and visually impaired users that allows them to learn and map where things are in their surroundings, rendering a white cane unnecessary
Emerging Trends
As I mentioned before, CES is a great place to see new consumer-focused hardware in the form of phones, TVs, and computers. For instance, LG released a preview of a wireless TV with a signal strong enough to support a connection to cable boxes, video game consoles, and other inputs up to 30 feet away – the only cord needed is to power the screen.
In addition to some of the fun handheld gadgets, I saw a ton of electric vehicles that went way beyond your average car. Alternative methods of transportation like electric bikes and scooters with low-emissions transportation around urban areas seemed to take center stage this year. I also saw endless displays of autonomous vehicles and devices ranging from housekeeping tools, like advanced robotic technology for vacuuming, pool cleaning, and lawnmowing, to autonomous high-speed vehicles for the Indy Autonomous Challenge.
Finally, rounding out CES’s top emerging trends this year with a shoutout to all things Web3. A lot of industry leaders are betting on augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and the metaverse, with some innovations even boasting odor and movement capabilities. But one of the most exciting applications of VR technology is how it is being used to grow the workforce as a cost-effective, accessible option for training employees. From aviation experts and active members of the military to medical professionals, innovations around AR, VR, and the metaverse go far beyond the next fun game or wearable – these pieces of technology will transform the way we live, work, and play — again.
Until Next Time
The opportunity to attend CES this year to see and engage with some of the world’s most exciting and mind-blowing tech innovations is an experience I will carry with me for a lifetime. I’m excited to attend in the future to continue learning about the latest and greatest technology and small business innovators who drive innovation.
