Overview
From EV vehicles to countless solutions for a hotter, drier and hungrier planet, CES 2023 showed the determination of tech innovators to tackle the world’s most intractable challenges. Not just by the numbers, but by the focus on tech for good across 2.2 million net square feet of prime exhibit space, CES 2023 was one for the record books. Here’s a look at how sustainability, accessibility, diversity and other facets of human well-being were taken on in Las Vegas.
From opening day, January 5, to its close January 8, CES 2023 represented four incredible days of product launches and major company announcements designed to solve global problems. Driving home the show’s theme of human security for all, CES amplified the industry’s commitment to mitigating the ills associated with poverty, social injustice, disease, political strife, global warming, disability and more through technology. Consider a few key takeaways and indicators that have many in the industry feeling more optimistic about our future, and thinking ahead to next year’s show.
Tech Cares: CES Proves It
For the first time, CES was themed to underscore U.N.-defined Human Security for All. Exhibitors, speakers and events overwhelmingly showcased these basic rights. Partnering with World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) to promote human security for all, CES demonstrated countless advances and concepts in sustainability, accessibility and social justice. Virtually every sector represented at the show displayed ways for making the world safer, and our lives more stable.
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The innovation unveiled this week will drive economic growth and change in meaningful ways to improve our lives and create a better future for the next generation.
Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, CTA
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Eureka Park
The premier startup marketplace for entrepreneurs, Eureka Park wowed attendees with their inventions in robotics, healthcare, energy and other fields.
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation brought ten companies to its ZER01NE pavilion in Eureka Park working to solve challenges beyond the automotive. This year’s displays included a digital therapy product from eMotiv for children with ADHD, and a camera technology from ArgosVision that gives robots a human-like field of view. Samsung Research showed off eight companies at its C-Lab booth. In the spirit of C-Lab’s mission to foster and fund ideas, seven of the eight companies from the C-Lab incubator won Innovation Awards: NEUBILITY, 40FY, NdotLight, CELLiCO, Plask, Catius and Wrtn Technologies. They were recognized for their novel counters to mental illness, retinal disease and other conditions that interfere with wellbeing. Representing LG’s North American Innovation Center (NOVA) lounge at Eureka Park were companies that exemplified LG’s Mission for the Future. One of these, Charger Help!, is a reliability management platform for EV charging stations. Another exhibitor, QuickTake Health, is transforming the patient intake experience by using vital signs automation.
Partnerships
Among hundreds of strategic alliances announced at CES 2023, many were formed to address sustainability, accessibility and health. Nvidia and Mercedes-Benz announced a partnership to use Nvidia’s Omniverse platform to build a digital twin (or model for facilitating efficient development) of a Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt, Germany, where the all-electric EQA is made. ZF, the German car-parts manufacturer, announced a partnership with mobility provider Beep to bring thousands of next-generation shuttles for autonomous driving to the U.S. market. Clinical care company MedWand announced its partnership with the Urban-Rural Healthcare Alliance to support increased access to clinical-quality healthcare via partnerships between cities and surrounding rural areas. Collaborating in the effort are, among others, AT&T, HP and Oracle.
Keynotes
The show’s keynote addresses convened the industry’s top decision-makers and most visionary leaders speaking to topics on tech and human wellbeing.
From “Bold Solutions for a Changing World” to “Building Connection and Community in a Non-Stop World” and “The Future of Care in America: A New Hybrid Model,” keynotes drew huge attendee and media audiences for insider insights. Featured keynotes captured live are available on demand. Don’t miss AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su on AMD’s vision for transforming lives through high-performance and adaptive computing. John Deere CEO John May explored the state of the industry in his opening keynote on how technology can defeat the world’s most urgent threats.
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CES incubates the next big idea, connects funders to innovators, and gives the leaders driving change a platform to share how they shape a diverse and inclusive future. We take seriously our responsibility to lead by example, ensuring CES is open and accessible, and empowering the industry and individuals to grow.
Tiffany Moore, Sr. VP, Political and Industry Affairs, CTA
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Human-Centered Mega Trends at CES
Consumers are demanding a green and equitable return for their tech dollar. Business is listening. CES-wide, exhibitors unveiled their latest offerings for containing pollution, lowering barriers to quality healthcare and boosting access to opportunity.
Metaverse and Web3
The show featured metaverse groundbreakers in sensory tech underlying immersive and interactive digital worlds. These experiences and associated tools promise to open new engagement options for training and therapies, as well as for entertainment.
Regarding Web3, the internet’s next iteration as more user-controlled, exhibitors displayed how more communities can be heard, how creators may better control their financial fortunes and how activists may more directly amplify their causes. At the Web3 Tokenization Village, mobile-app startup Smartness exhibited the Ko Social Network. It's unique in that it democratizes and secures activity on the network via blockchain-based transactions. Ko also provides a secure and frictionless NFT-creation process via mobile. Anyone can engage with the likeminded; no special skills required.
And that’s just one example. Want to learn more about the future of the internet as the people’s town hall? Check out expert interviews from the Web3 Studio, presented by Coindesk.
Digital Health
Developments, some brilliant, in digital health attracted audiences and scores of headlines as exhibitors including Abbott, LOTTE Healthcare, MedWand and OMRON Healthcare displayed what’s next in digital therapeutics, mental wellness, women’s health and telemedicine. Many of their stories were captured at the show’s Digital Health Studio, and can be watched on demand.
AI took center stage with exhibitors showing apps, devices and platforms for improving health analysis through users’ breath, face color and speech. Smart products addressed sleep-related issues including teeth grinding, even bedsores. Vivoo and Withings debuted at-home urine tests for tracking hydration, ketones, proteins and oxidative stress. The LUXTEP foot-balance monitoring mat measures body weight imbalance to assess falling risk.
Food Tech and Agriculture
Always a popular segment at CES, food tech this year focused on energy-saving appliances and nutrition. Samsung’s Bespoke AI oven, for example, uses cameras for identifying food and recommending cooking settings to minimize waste. It integrates with Samsung Health to present meal options based on the user’s workout statistics, diet goals and available ingredients. In the agriculture category, John Deere demonstrated a fully autonomous tractor with GPS guidance, stereo cameras, sensors and AI to perform tasks such as preparing soil for seed planting.
For details on mega trends at CES 2023, don’t miss Inside CES 2023, Trends & Takeaways. CTA’s 69-page report covers what was new in 2023 and what’s driving change, as well as regulatory developments, partnerships and many other topics.
Looking Ahead
The future of technology is safeguarding the planet and helping to save mankind. As exemplified across the show, extraordinary momentum is evident in technologies driving AI, smart cities, energy, sustainability, diversity and accessibility. In 2024, CES will continue to spotlight the industry’s determination to surmount obstacles and prove the skeptics wrong. It’ll work to drive policies of the U.S. 118th Congress that afford tech leaders freedom to problem-solve.
We’re already in planning mode for CES 2024, January 9-12; more details will be revealed in the coming months. Meanwhile, expect an event that will build on this year’s attendee numbers and many firsts. Watch this space to see what’s next, and what’s new.