CES 2023: electric vehicles, metaverse, NFT; technologies that make the show
The new automotive-dedicated West Hall at CES mirrors the redesign of the rest of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Image: CTA.
The Consumer Electronics Show is fast approaching (January 5-8). And once again, this will be a hybrid event that will take place simultaneously in Las Vegas and in a virtual meeting room built into your web browser.
Back to Las Vegas
According to the Consumer Technology Association, which has sponsored the decades-long show, the expansion of the physical Las Vegas site for the 2023 show is a testament to the industry’s desire for in-person interaction despite continued distancing.
According to the association, CES’ goal is to exceed 100,000 attendees. They come from 173 countries, territories and regions, and more than 4,700 journalists are accredited.
“I think people are excited about CES, they’re excited to reconnect, they’re excited to actually come together,” CES vice president John T. Kelly told ZDNet in New York.
“We’re keeping the remote component, but the in-person component is more important this year,” Kinsey Fabrizio, senior vice president of CES sales, said in the same session. For example, the total area of this exhibition is 70% larger than the previous one.
Exhibitors who were unable to attend the last show are returning in 2023 with more than 3,100 exhibitors, details Kinsey Fabrizio, of whom nearly 1,000 are exhibiting for the first time. “They’re taking extra meeting rooms out of the fairgrounds, which shows they want to do business.”
“We also saw a record number of entries for our innovation awards program. »
Key topics and technologies to follow
Electric cars and autonomous cars
Cars and mobility technologies are among the main themes of CES 2023, claims Kinsey Fabrizio.
Photo: Volvo.
These categories were moved to the all-new West Hall (located across Paradise Road from the current Las Vegas Convention Center).
CES also uses the central and north halls, while the south hall was demolished as part of the renovation.
Central Hall is connected to West Hall by an underground tunnel created by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company, which transports passengers in Teslas. The tunnel stations run from West Hall in front of the Wynn on South Las Vegas Boulevard next to Circus Circus to the Resorts World hotel.
“You’ll find a lot of self-driving technology as well as electric cars,” says Kinsey Fabrizio, in West Hall, including solar-powered electric car maker Light Year. John Deere and Caterpillar will also participate, and the latter will probably introduce an autonomous tractor.
In addition to cars, marine technologies, especially electric yachts, will be very available, Kinsey Fabrizio noted, with brands such as Volvo and all kinds of marine technologies.
Connected health
Another major theme is connected health technologies, located in the North Hall as last time. Areas of digital health include sleep technology, digital therapeutics, mental health and new diagnostic technologies.
Due to the new rules introduced in the US, visitors to the show will be able to see and test many hearing aids. They are now available in the US without a prescription.
The digital health category also introduces innovations in terms of the “emergency service of the future” for the hospital world.
According to Kinsey Fabrizio, the emergency department of the future will have devices and services that incorporate “telehealth as well as a lot of remote patient monitoring” to reduce overcrowding in emergency rooms. hospitals and “so that people can be ranked differently” .
Artificial intelligence, robotics and the metaverse
Technologies for professionals, including artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things, will share North Hall with digital health.
The Venetian Hotel is once again home to many exhibitors in the former Sands Convention Center. Including – for the second year in a row – an exhibition on a very wide range of accessories for technologies for the food sector, smart homes as well as digital products.
Eureka Park, a tech startup hub, will also be present at the Sands. This year, more than a thousand startups from more than 20 countries will demonstrate their products in Eureka Park. It should be noted that “Ukraine Tech” will also have a pavilion.
John T. Kelley notes that the metaverse took center stage at the last CES, and this year it will be “everywhere at CES.” “You’ll see mostly hardware-oriented companies like Magic Leap out there,” said the augmented reality company, which focuses on enterprise use of the technology.
Microsoft will also participate in the Web3 space, and a dedicated studio in the lobby will “allow Web3 experts to take the stage and discuss digital assets, blockchain technology and the metaverse,” claims John T. Kelley.
“I think Web3 will be a significant topic of discussion throughout the CES program,” he predicts, “mainly focusing on metaverses and NFTs.”
According to him, Web3 is appearing in more and more innovative applications. For example, the startup Olfactory Virtual Reality, or OVR, “adds smell to the headset, so you can already smell in the metaverse,” says John T. Kelley. According to him, a specific application of this technology will be training for emergency interventions, for example, to smell a fire.
A recent partnership between BMW and chip giant Nvidia to introduce the factory of the future, recalls John T. Kelley. He adds that partnerships like these are “the building blocks of what the future will look like” in the metaverse and Web3 crossover. »
Kinsey Fabrizio adds, “I think you’ll see companies showing their physical products at the show and also launching their metaverse expansion.”
NFT
John T. Kelley says a “small” area of the Aria Hotel is reserved for NFTs to give businesses “exposure.”
Famous for disasters like Bored Ape Club, NFTs are finding new uses in industry, says John T. Kelley. For example, in the event space, it becomes an entry key for attendees of an event, such as an after party.
“As an owner of this NFT, you can get into the event, it’s starting to get popular,” he says. That same NFT could become a “unified passport” that allows brands to communicate with their consumers in a way that’s different from email. And of course NFT can be bought and sold in the market.
Image: CNET.
CES 2023 headlines
Keynote speakers at this year’s show include AMD CEO Lisa Su, BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse, John Deere CEO John May and Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.
As for the remote side of the show, keynotes will be broadcast live as in the past and exhibitors will have virtual booths.
“There are two things we’ve been using post-Covid that people really like,” says John T. Kelly. “The first is the ability to watch content after the event, so we will have over 100 sessions to watch after the event. »
“And then there’s an opportunity to build a better relationship with some of the exhibitors by, for example, finding a vendor before the show and messaging them to set up a meeting.” And the ability to hold a video meeting on the CES digital platform.
Search functions — such as searching for exhibitors by category (such as “metaverse”) — have been improved, says John T. Kelley.
“We’ve improved our tools knowing that our audience has changed a little bit because we have a much more remote audience than what was completely live before Covid. »
Life sciences giant Abbott is among the big digital health exhibitors returning to CES. Image: CTA.
The magic of a trade show
However, distance learning can never fully replicate the physical experience of a trade show. Consider the benefits of face-to-face meetings. Companies participating in the exhibition hold an average of 29 meetings.
John T. Kelley notes, “In the world of Zoom, things get lost. Including random encounters that couldn’t happen there.
Kinsey Fabrizio adds, “There are those random encounters where you’re standing in line for coffee, you bump into someone, and you strike up a business relationship.”
“That’s the magic of a trade show, those random moments,” adds John T. Kelley.
Kinsey Fabrizio says that all the remote functionality is “a nice addition,” “but I don’t think it’s anything like seeing and touching and experiencing the product.”
Source: ZDNet.com
