After two years of the Consumer Electronics Convention (CES) be stifled from the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention floor was open again to electronic enthusiasts and innovators from around the world.
This year’s show at the participant and exhibitor levels was not an overwhelming success compared to past years conventions. As the omicron virus variant was sweeping infection rate around the world, many exhibitors and participant numbers started to dwindle in the last 30 days before the show.
Mojave River Valley News made the commitment to broadcast a live feed from the convention floor, to give you the firsthand look and feel of the many innovations and companies that were being showcased. The videos themselves are of full walkthroughs of the convention floor, passing between various booths and speaking to those that understand the developments their company is showcasing.
We were able to highlight a few areas of interest that were visited on the convention floor:
Gaming – Years after the release of the Oculus headsets revolutionized how the public views and uses Virtual Reality (VR) and brought affordable VR options to the average consumer for the first time, head mounted displays- otherwise known as “HMD’s”, have come a long way. However, it’s not just VR that was showcased: many different companies have a presence on the conference floor, ranging from major companies like Razer or Alienware, to smaller ones selling a wide variety of gaming necessities, such as InWin, which markets customizable computer towers. Bleujour makes an appearance as well, a company marketing small form factor cases with interesting external designs.
Health – with the rise of pandemics, and the worries and problems associated with them, this has led to a wide array of new health products and innovations. While not everything at the convention involved with health revolved around the pandemic, there were multiple different companies, such as ViraWarn, showcasing the developments they’d made in equipment for the detection of the virus in the air.
Robotics – while the entrance of robotics into the consumer market began years ago with the introduction of the iRobot line of cleaning robots, robotics has come a long way since then. Showcased at CES are robotic units intended for industrial, infrastructural, business and consumer use alike, for everything from transporting food to moving luggage.
Smart Homes – smart homes are always evolving. Newest developments, showcased this year at CES, show systems that can be used to control the functions and equipment of smart homes with ease, often with the simple pointing of a finger.
Accessories – expanding the function of any device, many accessories are necessary for specific uses for various devices. Everything from AR glasses to ordinary headphones or phone cases can expand upon the functionality of devices, and all of the above have presences at CES.
Electrice Vehicles (EV) – EV’s, more commonly known as electric vehicles, made a very strong showing at this year’s CES. Multiple companies already deeply involved with the field have shown their hand this year and joining them are a number of companies involving themselves for the first time. Both Sony and Bosch revealed their models of electric vehicle, with Sony’s potentially being intended as a competitor to industry giant Tesla, and Bosch running with a model that draws and stores its energy in a fuel cell rather than the more typical Li-on battery array.
TV’s – televisions are constantly evolving. There was a time when 720p was standard definition, and 1080p was considered hi-def; these days, 1080p has taken the 720p’s position, with 4K sitting in the hi-def. However, 4K might eventually be dethroned: slowly, as 4K capable displays become cheaper and better, 4K moves towards being a standard, while 8K displays now in development are beginning to take over the highest end displays. While it may be a few years before 8K can really come into its own, many 8K capable displays and televisions were exhibited at CES this year.
Alternative transport – in addition to EV’s, many pieces of technology have been released this year, in particular a large amount of personal and portable vehicles, many of which are electrical themselves. Scooters, bikes, motorcycles and otherwise- companies seek to revolutionize personal transport.
Power storage methods – with the evolution and changes in battery technology, particularly in the past year or two, many companies have attempted to release options for portable power storage and supply. Oftentimes, these companies seek to replace generators with battery technology, most of it capable of being carried by a person.
