CES 2015 @ Las Vegas, USA

First held in New York in 1967, the Consumer Electronic Show(CES) marks its 49th anniversary in 2015 as the world’s largest electronics exposition.
CES 2015 was held for four days between January 6 and 9, with participation of over 3,600 businesses
from 150 countries in the event, and was visited by more than 170,000 people.

IoT and Wearable Devices Grab Attention

At CES 2015, a wide range of products and services were displayed to show
how the Internet of Things(IoT) will shape our future life based on, for example, smart home technology.
Samsung Electronics showcased IoT-based smart home services using the recently acquired SmartThings platform, and LG Electronics
introduced a range of smart home services using a smart TV as a hub, based on the webOS 2.0 platform and the IoT platform AllJoyn.
Lowe’s, an American home appliances distributor, demonstrated an IRIS-based smart hoe,
and a number of other companies including Bosch and ADT exhibited their own smart home services linked to Google NEST.
A new brand ‘Mother’ launched at CES 2015, presenting novel sensors that can be attached anywhere,
from doors and walls to home appliances to medicine bottles and toothbrushes.
An additional field of note at this year’s event was wearable devices, another important domain of the IoT.
The technology is being applied to ever increasing items, such as watches, necklaces, rings, bracelets, bands,
and shoes, with expanding uses for information, entertainment, healthcare, sports, and device control.
For smart watches, a number of products already in the commercialization stage were introduced at the show.
There were also a range of band-type devices that can be attached to socks, belts, bracelets, and shoes to track physical activities.

Innovation & Convergence emerge as Key Concepts

One of the notable features of CES 2015 is the emergence of a number of innovative products made by venture firms and small businesses.
The number of products exhibited at Eureka Park, the section for emerging venture enterprises’ products,
dramatically increased from 220 in 2014 to 370 in 2015, and the section occupied the central space of the exhibition hall.
It is also worth mentioning that the CES Innovation Awards were granted this year to smart devices launched by smaller-sized businesses,
contrasting with the usual winners of large home appliances developed by big-brand companies.
In 2015, the CES has become a venue where automobiles, drones, and robots converged with technology from other areas.
Global ICT companies including Intel, Qualcomm, and Nvidia jumped into the automobile markets.
Car dashboards and buttons were replaced by visual displays, and state-of-the-art UI/UX for voice or
gesture recognition was applied to automobiles to improve the safety of drivers when they control displays while driving.
Drones and robots were also introduced as high-tech products equipped with cameras and a variety of sensors converged with wireless telecommunications technology.
CES 2015 has indeed challenged the global IT industry to envision the next decade and come up with new R&D plans to respond to new trends.