CES 2023: what to expect from the world's largest technology fair

CES, the largest consumer electronics fair on the planet, returns to Las Vegas for another year.

After a somewhat more decaffeinated face-to-face edition than usual due to the pandemic restrictions, more than 2,400 exhibitors are expected to show their technological innovations between January 5 and 8 at hotels and convention centers in the city of the State of Snowfall.

If 2022 was the year in which the metaverse and space technology gained more strength than ever, in this edition it is expected that the protagonists will also be Web 3, digital health, food and vehicle technology, the artificial intelligence and robotics.

The CTA, the organizing association of the event, is optimistic and hopes to return to pre-pandemic figures.

If in 2020 the fair welcomed more than 100,000 attendees, in 2021 it was held only virtually due to covid-19 and in 2022 it received some 40,000 people.

Now the CTA estimates that some 100,000 attendees —a third from outside the United States— will attend the event, which has been held since 1967. In addition, the space for exhibitors grows by 50% and reaches 186,000 square meters.

These will be the major technological trends that will be addressed during the event:

the future of the internet

Last year one of the main innovations was the metaverse, a kind of virtual world in which users can interact with each other, entertain themselves or even buy and sell products and services.

On this occasion, in addition to the metaverse, Web3 will gain importance, the next phase of the Internet, which stands out because it is decentralized thanks to blockchain technology.

From the CTA they describe it as "an Internet without ties to the terms and servers of the service provider" and "an ideal platform for the expansion of the metaverse."

“Because these applications are based on the

, Web3 sites provide more anonymity and security to the user than many of today's websites that live on centralized servers,” he notes.

Despite the fact that a total renewal of Web2 "is far from imminent", several experts will discuss the advances of Web3 and its advantages and limitations.

Virtual reality for phobias and meditation 'apps'

“Health services have evolved from 24/7 virtual visits, access to online pharmacies, and rapid prescription delivery to enhanced health record applications and remote patient monitoring platforms and physical conditioning and well-being”, they affirm from the CTA.

Other technologies such as virtual reality can be helpful in treating phobias of flying, heights, spiders, dogs, or needles.

More and more users say they are willing to use this type of technology.

According to the CTA, they are primarily interested in meditation and mindfulness apps, sleep monitoring apps, virtual and augmented reality, and online counseling and therapy platforms.

In this edition of CES, digital health is one of the areas with the highest growth and all these technologies will be discussed, the role of technological giants in the sector, the potential of home diagnostic tests and the future of patient care.

Vegetable seafood and meatless burgers

From "bleeding" burgers to sausages,

and meatballs that do not come from animals, as well as vegetable seafood.

Plant- and fungus-based products that mimic meat and fish are reshaping the food industry.

In 2022, the fair launched an area dedicated exclusively to food technology and innovation.

Companies such as Moa FoodTech or MycoTechnology exhibited their advances in the sector with a view to achieving a more sustainable diet.

In this edition, in addition to discussing how to obtain alternative plant-based proteins, it will address how to reinvent the food system in an increasingly populated planet, the future of agriculture and the role of robots and other technologies in the sector. .

Something especially important considering that "the way in which food is prepared and cooked will change drastically in the next 10 or 20 years."

This is indicated by the CTA, which expects the market share of food technology to exceed 342,000 million dollars in 2027.

An Aptiv autonomous car (a company in which Hyundai participates), photographed on January 3, at CES 2023. ROBYN BECK (AFP)

From electric cars to autonomous tractors

One of the fastest growing areas in this edition is vehicle technology.

“With features like adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance and lane guidance, the technology paves the way for safer roads,” the CTA states.

In this edition, companies such as Bridgestone, Caterpillar and General Motors intend to showcase their solutions to reduce pollution, alleviate traffic congestion and make driving safer.

More and more manufacturers and users are opting for electric vehicles.

This is highlighted by the CTA, which indicates that Hyundai will offer 23 models of electric and hydrogen cars by 2025, while Stellantis plans to have 55 electric cars and trucks in the United States and Europe that same year.

The organizing association of the CES insists that in this category not only automobiles will be discussed, but also the technology of marine and agricultural vehicles will gain importance.

For example, autonomous electric tractors or machines to reduce the use of herbicides.

Machines that predict diseases and robots

Robotics and artificial intelligence have transformed multiple industries: from mobility and delivery to production and manufacturing.

It is a booming sector.

Global spending on warehouse automation alone was $17.5 billion in 2022, according to Prologis data cited by the CTA.

Multiple exhibitors such as Aeolus Robotics, Blue Frog Robotics or Gausium intend to show how artificial intelligence and robotics aspire to revolutionize transportation, household chores or recreation.

At CES, the extent to which artificial intelligence will play a decisive role in other fields such as healthcare and natural language processing will also be discussed.

While some machines can already predict disease risk better than humans themselves, tools like ChatGPT—which gained more than a million users in just five days after launch—show the potential of such technologies.

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