The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is one of the largest shows for innovations in consumer technology. During this year’s show, from 9 to 12 January in Las Vegas, we saw a host of new gadgets and innovations, ranging from industrial robots to refrigerators, from smart televisions to toothbrushes, that point to momentum for some longer-term trends.
Every year, the CES renders an avalanche of announcements, innovations, collaborations, and useful and useless gadgets. Although these provide a reliable barometer of the state of the tech industry and the future of consumer applications, they do not tell us whether consumers will adopt and use them and how they will be integrated in the daily lives of consumers. In this note, we examine some technological innovations from the recent CES, and speculate how they might change our seven everyday practices.Firstly, the home is becoming a place of ‘professional luxury’. For example, Kohler announced several smart kitchens appliances, such as smart ovens and smart pressure cookers. Assisted by these artificially intelligent products, consumers can start cooking like a real cook. Furthermore, the cinema experience might come to the consumers’ homes. Sony’s 10,000 nit television is 10 times brighter than our current TVs and allows for 8K video streaming and with a host of virtual reality announcements for entertainment systems, the better-than-cinema-experience comes to the living room. Moreover, 3D printers allow amateur craftsmen to create and design their own stuff, like furniture or handicrafts, in their own garage. These technologies enable luxury goods like high-quality food, entertainment, and decorations to be produced and consumed inside our own homes, and they empower the regular consumer to work like a professional.The enabling technologies that smarten up our house and allow for HD-streaming on our devices, especially 5G, can be useful within the automotive industry. For example, multiple exhibition and panel discussion at the CES examined how to put an extra layer of intelligence over cities and infrastructure using 5G mobile networks, for instance Bosch’s idea for ‘community-based parking systems’ in Las Vegas or Panasonic’s concepts for smart highways. Furthermore, new ‘last-mile solutions’ were introduced, like OjO’s e-scooters partnering with Ford or Ujet’s foldable e-scooters. These concepts reduce the need for Level 5 autonomous vehicles to manoeuver in busy and urban environments, and boost the potential for autonomous vehicles in the near future. These vehicles will change the way we understand driving and being on the road. For example, one can use the car as a working space, while AR - for enhancing the ride itself - or VR - to transform the car into an entertainment hub – will create whole new driving experiences and ‘free up’ the driver as a consumer.Lastly, the CES showed how technology is making inroads into the digitization of our perceptions and senses. Voice and speech technology were ubiquitous, with Amazon’s Alexa fighting its ‘battle for the home’ with Google’s Home. But besides voice, there are more senses that are becoming digitized. For example, Moodo introduced a smart-smelling device that combines modular cups of scents that can be modified by wearable devices, while new haptic interfaces, controlled by ultrasound waves to ‘touch objects in mid-air’ or bionic gloves, are digitizing our touch. These innovations replace buttons and keyboards by touch and gesture, making our environment and buildings more adaptive to our needs. Furthermore, they can create more immersive experience, for example in eSports or entertainment.
