LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Leaders from the technology industry gathered in Las Vegas early January for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to show off their latest innovations and concepts exclusively to potential investors and members of the press. The conference has gone on for decades and is a notoriously lavish spectacle for the senses that is frequently likened to the World’s Fair.
The six-day event housed 4,000 exhibitors from mega-corporations to start-ups based all around the world to the estimated 130,000 attendees. The event took the entire city by storm, occupying three halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Westgate, the Venetian Expo Center, the Mandalay Bay and the ARIA.
Here’s a wrap-up of some of the top innovations across several key sectors of the industry, including mobility, health, food, home and entertainment.
Mobility
CES has become a sort of auto show in recent years. Car manufacturers and even tech companies dazzle every year with their latest innovations in vehicle technology.
Notably absent were American automakers, which industry experts attribute to the United Auto Workers strike; Tesla technology did however make appearances in other exhibits, namely Samsung’s, and the Tesla Vegas Loop transported attendees between the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Hyundai was a standout this year with several eye-catching displays. Company representatives showed off a concept vehicle called Dice with transparent screens all around the one-person cabin. The unique vehicle allows for personal space to take conference calls or meditate, representatives said.
Hyundai engineers also designed Space Mobility with similar principles to Dice applied to public transportation. The vehicles are modular and accessible and can be docked directly with a building.
The Mobis division of the company had a separate exhibit that showcased tech that allows all the wheels of a vehicle to rotate freely. A live preview on the show floor demonstrated a car crawling sideways to parallel park and spinning in a perfect circle.
Samsung demonstrated a new platform for vehicles with tech that watches drivers in the cabin — but for good reason. The sensors will monitor health conditions during rides and send alerts. The platform also uses AI to provide personalized recommendations about stops to the windshield.
Even Sony has a concept car. Afeela mobility is the company’s partnership with Honda that company officials have been previewing for several years of the event now.
Sony Honda Mobility President Izumi Kawanishi stunned the audience by driving out the Afeela car onto the stage using a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. The vehicle uses Unreal Engine, the technology that powers video games like Fortnite, to bring immersive 3D graphics onto the car’s dashboard.
The cars did not just stay on the ground at CES 2024. China-based Xpeng Aeroht’s display showcased a flying car concept ahead of its modular version’s expected shipping next year in China; company officials tell me they plan on bringing it to the U.S. later and that it will require a special license that is easier than that for a plane.
Supernal hosted a separate pop-up outside the convention center that highlighted their own flying car concept for America. Instead of consumer vehicles, their visionaries are planning for infrastructure that allows for short electric flights with vertical takeoff and landing and are shorter than driving, even when accounting for travel time to their stations.
Health & Food
Bodyfriend was an attendee-favorite booth with a new massage chair available to demo. Innovation Award-nominated chair Phantom Neo scans the user’s body and has separate leg units that move the waist and pelvis to help correct posture, company officials claim.
Representatives for Israeli-based startup Nimble Beauty demonstrated their new device that does manicures. It scans users’ hands and uses a small robotic arm to paint the nail. The demo did a single nail in just two minutes, but representatives said a full treatment for a hand would take about 45 minutes.
Consumer health tracker company Withings’ booth displayed an all-in-one measurement device called BeamO that serves as a thermometer, stethoscope, ECG and blood oxygen sensor. The device can send all this information directly to a doctor during Telehealth visits, company officials claim. The device is set to go on sale for $250 and is expected to go on sale mid-year, pending FDA approval.
Panasonic representatives unveiled a collection of new attachable heads for the company’s MultiShape all-in-one grooming product. These tools bring new functionality to the device, including toothbrushing and nose-trimming.
Florida-based company Kalogon had a booth demonstrating a robotic cushion for wheelchair users to help prevent pressure injuries. The technology is set to be licensed and integrated into car and airplane seats, company leaders said.
A big part of health is nutrition, and several companies are working on devices to make food preparation easier.
ColdSnap drew crowds every day for its Keurig-like ice cream machine that freezes and dispenses everything right outside of the disposable prepackaged tube, leaving no mess to clean up. Flavors up for taste-testing included classics like vanilla and chocolate along with boozy Mexican hot chocolate and bourbon varieties. The product is currently aimed at businesses, but company officials said they are planning on targeting the personal user next.
Similar machines to the ColdSnap make it easy to brew beer and mix cocktails at home, but some more common appliances got reimagined at the show too. General Electric showed off an indoor smoker, and Revolution Cooking had an oven with the size and speed of a microwave.
Samsung hosted demonstrations of its food app where a chef made a dish on the show floor. The app allows users to scan ingredients with their phone camera and keep track of the items in their fridges using internal cameras and AI. The app will then intelligently pick recipes those ingredients can make, intelligently pre-heat the oven, and guide at-home chefs through all the steps on screens built-in to appliances.
Home
Kohler’s booth brought a moment of zen with a garden of shower heads and flowing water. It was all to demonstrate Anthem Plus, the company’s new system that can connect up to 12 different faucets and sync lights, music and steam to a shower. It also helps save water by recycling cold water until it reaches the user’s set temperature without wasting it.
The company also showed off the Stillness Bath with an overflow-catching system like an infinity pool. The accompanying app allows control of light, fog and aromas, company officials said.
Several companies showed off robots. The LG Smart Home AI Agent greets homeowners at their door, watches their homes while they are away, and can even call emergency services if you have a medical emergency while you are home alone.
Samsung rebooted its Star Wars BB-8-like “Ballie” concept from previous years as a spherical robot with a built in projector that can show home information and video from doorbells or even inside a Samsung oven right on the wall. This builds off the company’s SmartThings technology that connects all of a user’s home-based devices. The app has a new tool that allows homeowners to map out their rooms and the objects inside of them in 3D.
Robots are not just inside the house — they can help outdoors, too. Aiper showed off a fleet of robotic lawn mowers and pool cleaners. They look and function similar to well-known robotic vacuums from companies like Roomba and could definitely help out on a hot Florida day.
Another challenge many Floridians face is keeping power on during storms. The new Delta Pro Ultra from EcoFlow is a modular battery backup that can be charged with either solar panels or gas. Homeowners can connect up to fifteen of the batteries across three racks, and company officials said that solution would keep a home powered during an outage for up to a month.
Entertainment
Entertainment is an integral part of the consumer electronics industry, and most of these experiences start with a screen; the very DNA of TVs is changing with the LG Signature OLED T. The screen is transparent and all of its components are housed in a separate box that connects wirelessly.
When users want to watch a show with a black background, a physical ‘curtain’ housed behind the display rolls up. LG officials said they hope users plan to put the TV in the middle of their rooms rather than against a wall so it can serve as an accent for the room.
The Last of Us Part II for PlayStation 4 is the basis of the upcoming seasons of the popular HBO series, and the game is getting cleaned up for PlayStation 5 with new graphics, lost levels and a challenge mode. The new version of the game was released Friday and owners of the original version can upgrade for $10.
Sony’s event organizers also were demonstrating the PlayStation VR2 headset with a new experience themed to the new Ghostbusters film. Both are already available; PlayStation VR2 costs $549 and requires a PlayStation 5 to connect it to, while Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is out for $34.
Virtual reality headsets were everywhere, from virtual reality rollercoasters to arcade games. Even augmented reality glasses, which allow you to see through to the outside world through the screens, were on display by companies including XREAL and TCL. Even Apple, which does not exhibit at CES, stole the show with the announcement during the show that their Apple Vision Pro headset would be available in February and go for pre-order Friday.
To enhance the virtual reality experience, presenters for bHaptics showed off a vest and gloves that vibrate in sync with the action in your game to help you feel immersed in your virtual world. The suit connects directly to one of several supported games when played and sends signals to that specific part of the suit, whether it is for a punch or a handshake.
A virtual reality headset is not necessary for this kind of sensory technology. Razer allowed gamers at the show to sample a chair cushion that had several vibration motors inside that would give similar feedback in targeted areas in sync with the game. The demonstration also featured vibration in the headphone cushions and controller, but company officials said they do not plan on selling consumer versions of those devices.