Tracking Trends in the Consumer Electronics Industry

By Phil Palermo

CES, the largest Consumer Electronics Show in the world is held every year at the Las Vegas convention center. Manufacturers and start-ups from around the globe come to exhibit their latest products and technological advancements. We regularly attend CES, as we aspire to bring our clients true innovation and fresh ideas that come from our commitment to understanding adjacent industries and the application of new technologies. CES 2020 inspired us with a number of fascinating products and evolving themes. This year we noticed a strong showing of long-endurance drones, last-mile package delivery systems, and Ai driven robots capable of performing many human labor-intensive tasks. In this era, if you’re not connected then you’re behind.

Here are six trends we observed:

01 | Robots

A wide offering of Human Centric Robots designed to perform a variety of household tasks, provide fitness assistance, carry heavy items, play with pets, and teach our kids. Expressive faces and whimsical personalities are the leading characteristics of many of these robots that use Ai to anticipate our needs and assist in our daily lives

02 | Drones

Lightweight frames, autonomous navigation, and fuel cell power technology are revolutionizing the drone industry.  Long endurance drones can take on some impressive and human labor saving tasks. Whether it be on land, in the water, or in the sky these drones have the ability to go further, carry more and communicate a near-infinite amount of data.

Self Driving Drones and Robots that specialize in last-mile delivery of goods and packages are continuing to grow in popularity and capability. These super maneuverable specialized drones have autonomous navigation and are modular for fleet transportation to and from their delivery zones.

03 | AI in Health + Wellness

Start-ups and well-established companies are utilizing artificial intelligence to develop products and services in health and wellness. At home vital sign monitoring, brain wave activity, and sleep analysis are some of the areas that Ai based products are focusing on. Users with a better understanding of what is going on inside them will be advised by many new products on what to do to improve their health and well being.

04 | AR VR MR

CES 2020 was flush with innovation in AR/VR technology and the many new and improved headsets garnered a lot of attention. Headset makers advertise lighter weight constructions and better comfort with high-resolution displays and wider field of views. MR headsets continue to impress with visually minimal designs and stunning display technology that immerse one into the digital experience without compromising the real-world setting.

Haptic Feedback continues to enhance game development and augmented reality simulations. Flexible/stretchable materials with embedded sensors at the joints can measure and quickly detect the smallest movements. New sensors can be printed on fabrics and coupled with vibration or applied pressures really bring a new level to user experience design.

05 | New Modes of Transport

A diverse range of configurations for single rider urban commuting and minimalistic lightweight electric motorcycles with off-road capabilities had a lively presence at CES this year. The trend of shared mobility in densely populated areas has many companies creating unique solutions to challenge the way we get from place to place.

There were a couple of examples of vehicles that combined the transportation of people and goods at CES this year. Bosch’s IoT driverless electric shuttle stood out with a new variation of their CES 2019 shuttle featuring connected on-demand mobility with flexible space for cargo and package delivery.

06 | Connected Home

Connected home products and systems simplify our lives, provide convenience and make us comfortable. Everything from appliances to showers these modern products collect information about our usage, make recommendations to improve and stay ahead of our needs in every room of the house.