International CES, the gathering of world's top consumer electronic technologies and products which is taking place in Las Vegas this week saw leading companies showcasing latest electronic gadgets and appliances in the market, including M2M machines, wearables and smart mobile devices. The CES also saw industry giants including Ford, Intel, Electrolux, General Motors, Qualcomm, Philips, Ericsson and BMW as well as service providers such as Verizon and AT&T presenting their take on what 2015 bodes for the consumer electronics segment and the major technological breakthroughs expected to take place during the year, including developments that will impact the telecom sector. Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the organizer of the event, expects the CE industry to grow 3% this year to reach US$223.2 billion.
One of the key technologies showcased at the CES was the Connected Car with auto-makers sharing their connected car solutions. Ford for example, unveiled its Smart Mobility plan which leverages connectivity, mobility and big data to power its connected car services. The company also highlighted that its open source hardware and software, OpenXC™will enable developers to create solutions that provide a better customer experience, more flexible user-ship models and social collaboration.
Another technology that also garnered much attention at the CES is the 3D technology, with Intel expecting the CE industry to move to three-dimensional technologies, significantly changing the computing experience on a wide range of end-products. Intel shared their own technologies in this space -Real Sense, which can interpret depth, True Key, with recognition capability that eliminates need for passwords, and the Curie wearable, which can identify different sporting activities.
The CES saw discussions on how mobile connectivity is quickly transforming the CE industry and how issues such as privacy and data collection will play a major role in influencing how today's CE products can leverage connectivity to provide new services for users especially in the smart home, automobiles and health care industry. Augmented and virtual reality were also discussed and session panelists agreed that the availability of more content will push the technology from being used primarily for gaming to other applications such as telepresence and video. In addition to this, another vertical within the CE segment that is expected to spur new opportunities for service providers is the multi-screen video services. Ericsson, in presenting facts on this trend said that consumers are moving away from linear episodic viewing to short-form, personalized, easily shared and original content. Other areas that service providers can look into this year will be streaming services and 4K video, according to panelists in discussion on the trends in gaming.
Other areas that took centerstage during the CES is the Robotics technology. Robotics is expected to enable the transition of CE products from reactive to predictive and can be harnessed to improve people's lives to a great extend, said panelists during the discussion of the technology.
CES said that 20,000 products are expected to launch at the 2015 CES from major global brands ranging from the latest in wearables, unmanned systems, health and fitness tech, robotics, 3D printing, sensor technologies and beyond. the CES event which wraps up on the 9th will be followed by other CEA events including the CES Unveiled Tokyo in February, CEA Winter Break in March and 2015 International CES Asia in May.
Mark Fields, president and CEO, Ford Motor Co
We are driving innovation in every part of our business to be both a product and mobility company – and, ultimately, to change the way the world moves just as our founder Henry Ford did 111 years ago....Our priority is not in making marketing claims or being in a race for the first autonomous car on the road. Our priority is in making the first Ford autonomous vehicle accessible to the masses and truly enhancing customers’ lives.
