The third time will be the good one. After two aborted relaunches due to COVID, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially resumes its rights in Las Vegas at the start of 2023. Exhibitors and visitors are back in force this week to start the year on a high note. Literally as well as figuratively.
The 2022 edition of CES was supposed to be held in person, but an unexpected wave of COVID-19 in early January relegated three-quarters of visitors to the status of virtual spectators. None of that this year. Las Vegas is preparing somehow to welcome some 100,000 people in the flesh by Saturday.
An arduous challenge: Nevada is at the heart of a historic drought which, unless the winter in the American Rockies is particularly snowy, threatens its supply of drinking water and its energy security. Lake Mead, the reservoir supplying the Hoover Dam power station, is at its lowest level since 1930. More than 25 million people in the region depend on this reservoir.
About 10 kilometers separate the Mandalay Bay and the Venetian, then the Las Vegas Convention Center. On this distance, where almost all the events organized within the framework of the CES are held, very little of this situation transpires. However, it influences the themes of one of the most popular technology conferences on the planet.
Moreover, we can already identify five of the main trends that will emerge over the next few days at CES. Here they are.
Energy sobriety
It’s not just in Quebec that we talk about energy sobriety. People coming to Las Vegas from all over the world to attend CES will be asked in the coming days to turn off the lights before leaving their hotel room and decline their daily cleaning, to save water and energy.
They will then see some of the most important manufacturers in the world present them with new gadgets with a reduced energy footprint. LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony, among others, will make energy conservation their main topics over the next few days, showcasing less energy-consuming and more durable home appliances.
Industrial players are also surfing on this wave of eco-responsibility. Farm equipment manufacturer John Deere will showcase automated devices that will make the farm more productive. Others promote the smart and resilient city, optimized to avoid the waste of resources in urban areas.
Digital health
Another strong theme in both Quebec and Nevada (and elsewhere in the world), digital and connected health will have a place of choice at CES this year. Who doesn’t dream of swapping their health insurance card for a safer and, above all, more efficient computerized system?
Well-known health companies, such as pharmaceutical Abbott, will present remote care tools that could take telemedicine, already stimulated by two years of COVID, to another level.
Especially for CES, the American College of Emergency Physicians has put together an entire pavilion that embodies its vision of tomorrow’s care. In addition to state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment tools, there are all-round connected services that take care of the patient more quickly and give a greater role to first responders: paramedics, nurses, etc.
Electric mobility
This year, the CES welcomes 300 exhibitors from the automotive sector. Electric and connected, the car of tomorrow presents itself in 2023 as a smartphone on four wheels.
As proof, the prototypes of some vehicles that the major manufacturers will market in the coming months. We will see how these vehicles are increasingly adopting the model of subscription services: more advanced driving assistance, navigation better able to avoid traffic jams, etc. The cars of tomorrow will offer all this, for a monthly payment that will make more than one motorist rant.
Metavers
A recurring theme of 2022, the metaverse returns stronger in 2023. In fact, the CES is inaugurating these days a space entirely devoted to this small revolution promised by immersive virtual environments of all kinds.
Microsoft will introduce mixed reality (i.e. the superposition of digital and visual data through connected glasses) adapted to professional contexts, such as distance learning or advanced technical support. Others will feature playful, decentralized virtual reality headsets and environments. Manufacturers are creating an immersive environment open to everyone, as opposed to the private and closed metaverse of Meta and its Quest headsets…
Web3
Closely linked to the metaverse, Web3 and cryptocurrency technology also takes a more prominent place at CES. The CoinDesk company wants to take stock of the evolution of this technology. It promises applications and innovations based on the blockchain (which brings these currencies to life) that will ensure the emergence of promising new services. Web3 is the main application that will be showcased at CES. It is an upcoming version of the current Internet that aims to be freer and more decentralized thanks to the blockchain.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.