CES 2022 returns home to Las Vegas with innovations for health, safety and solving global challenges

 

CES 2022 returned ‘home’ to Las Vegas yesterday, kicking off the world’s most influential tech event with innovation that will improve world health and safety and change lives around the globe. With more than 2300 exhibiting companies, including 800 startups, CES 2022 features the latest transformative technologies, including vehicle technology, artificial intelligence, digital health and smart home tech, as well as new categories: NFTs, food tech and space tech. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), CES 2022 runs through Friday, 7 January in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“At CES 2022 this week, we will be immersed in the innovation that will reshape our societies and solve fundamental human challenges in the decades to come,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA during his morning State of the Industry Address. “With innovations in AI, digital health, transportation, drones, smart cities, digital assets, space tech and more – these technologies are making us better – improving what we as human beings are capable of doing.”

“For more than half a century, the tech industry has relied on CES to meet new customers, find investors, reach members of the media, connect with industry leaders, and discover new innovations,” said Karen Chupka, EVP of CES, during CTA’s State of the Industry address. “This year’s event will deliver all of these — offering thousands of people the opportunity to connect with everyone from big brands to new startups.”

While the CES exhibit show floor opened yesterday, the full week of innovation kicked off on Monday and Tuesday with Media Days press conferences, CTA’s 2022 Tech Trends to Watch presentation, CES Unveiled Las Vegas and keynotes from Samsung and General Motors.

J.H. Han, vice chairman, CEO and head of DX (Device eXperience) division at Samsung Electronics, delivered the first keynote of CES 2022, unveiling Samsung’s “Together for Tomorrow” vision. Highlighting Samsung’s plans to build a more sustainable, customised and connected future, Han spoke on the need for further communication, collaboration and sustainability for technology to move forward. Samsung showcased its push into fully recyclable packing material, solar and radio-powered devices and new energy conservation products as the first steps towards creating a sustainable future. Samsung also announced that many current and future eco-friendly innovations will be fully open and available to other industry leaders. Han summarised this latest push into collaborative sustainability saying, “Millions of everyday changes can make a meaningful impact on our planet.”

Mary Barra, chair and chief executive officer of General Motors, delivered the opening CES keynote digitally Tuesday morning. Barra discussed an all-electric future, reshaping the automotive world. Barra revealed the much-anticipated Chevrolet Silverado EV, an electric version of its iconic pickup truck. The Silverado EV promises more headroom, an enhanced experience of spaciousness for both front and rear passengers, increased visibility and a fixed glass roof. Designed as an EV from the ground up, the Silverado EV will offer up 400 miles of range on a single charge and will feature GM’s Ultium battery packs. GM’s tech startup, BrightDrop, also provided updates on its EV600 electric commercial vehicle and the EP1 electric pallet.

CTA’s VP of Market Research Steve Koenig presented the 2022 Tech Trends to Watch on Monday. Koenig noted that consumers are “levelling up” their tech, as U.S. household ownership of new technology like 4K Ultra TVs and smart appliances increased more than seven percent in the past year. The U.S. consumer technology industry is projected to generate over $505 billion in retail sales revenue for the first time ever in 2022. The projection represents a 2.8% revenue increase from 2021’s impressive 9.6% growth over 2020. Strong demand for smartphones, automotive tech, health devices and streaming services will help propel much of the projected revenue. Koenig also noted that automotive technology sales are expected to rebound in 2022 as we begin to see early signs of recovery in chip supplies. Factory-installed automotive tech is projected to reach $16 billion in shipment revenues this year, an impressive 7% increase from 2021 ($14.9 billion).

Monday evening featured CES Unveiled, with more than 140 exhibiting companies and over 600 media. CES Unveiled provided a sneak preview of the innovation debuting this week at the show, including Baracoda Daily Healthtech’s ‘bcool’ Bluetooth connected thermometer; Moen’s Smart Faucet with motion control and voice control from Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant; MoonBikes Motors’ electric snowbike and Naio Technologies’ ‘Oz’ robot, a farming assistant that automates time-consuming tasks and provides data to growers. Check out all the highlights here.

Media Days featured 14 press conferences from top exhibitors who announced products and broke company news before the show floor opened, including:

• Advanced Symbolics Inc. – Ask Polly, enabled by AI, lets companies predict what consumers intend to buy in the future.
• Bodyfriend – The Pharaoh O2 massage chair, a CES 2022 Innovation Awards honouree, reduces fatigue using medical oxygen tech.
• Bosch – The smart connected biking solution was named a CES 2022 Innovations Awards honoree.
• Canon – Using a VR headset, Kokomo’s immersive call tech transports callers to the creator's view in real-time.
• Doosan Bobcat – The first all-electric Bobcat T7X compact track loader, eliminates hydraulics and components.
• Hisense – Hisense's 2022 ULED TVs promise high brightness paired with 1200 zones of LED local dimming.
• Hyundai Motor Company – Its Plug & Drive robotic module enables unlimited mobility of inanimate things.
• Indy Autonomous Challenge – On 7 January, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, competing university teams will advance autonomous vehicle tech.
• Intel – 12th Gen Intel Core mobile processors redefine multi-core architecture for laptop PCs.
• John Deere – The fully autonomous 8R 410 tractors, controlled via a smartphone, include 12 stereo cameras and a Nvidia GPU.
• LG Electronics – The smallest (42-inch) and largest (97-inch) OLED displays; OLED.EX enables transparent, flexible and ultra-thin displays.
• Ottonomy – Autonomous delivery robot is ideal for restaurants seeking a human-less curbside or home delivery solution.
• Qualcomm – The Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform includes cellular vehicle-to-everything, advanced driver assistance and an infotainment cockpit.
• Sony – The BRAVIA XR A95K is the first quantum dot OLED television with 4K resolution and 55- and 65-inch display sizes.

Caption: CES 2022 started with keynotes and media events (photo: CTA)