If you love technology and new gadgets, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the place to be. CES is one of the largest and most influential showcases in the world for introducing innovative technology products from around the globe.
This year the Las Vegas-based show brought in 115,000 industry professionals, making it the largest audited global tech event since 2020. With more than 3,200 exhibitors, including 1,000 start-up companies, CES 2023 gave us new innovations in mobility, health, transportation, sustainability, and more.
A diverse group of companies from around the globe showcased the latest innovations in the technology industries to attendees from more than 140 countries. In all, 60% of the Fortune 500 companies were represented.
The show also provided looks at products in the marketplace as well as products-yet-to-be-launched highlighting key trends such as:
- Human security for all
- Automotive and mobility
- Electric vehicles
- Digital health
- Sustainability
- Web 3 and Metaverse
New products demonstrated how technology can conserve energy, increase power generation, address food shortages, create sustainable agricultural systems, power smart cities, support access to clean water, and improve life for people with physical challenges.
The last category – physical challenges – may be one of the most innovative as companies worked on technology to improve lives of people who may often be overlooked. Some of the highlights include power wheelchairs, augmented listening, new earbuds, speech amplifiers and more. It’s one of my favorite categories.
What’s your favorite innovation from CES?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the purpose of CES show and how innovation fits into it.
- View the CES Web site: https://www.ces.tech/
- Also discuss the use of trade shows and exhibits as part of a marketing plan.
- Show a video overview of CES 2023: https://youtu.be/fAJ1LCO4cV4
- Show a summary video covering new innovations for accessibility: https://www.wsj.com/video/series/dalvin-brown/ces-2023s-most-innovative-assistive-tech-jabra-whispp-and-more/F7DEC067-2116-4C51-A173-E0A071E28EEA
- Divide students into teams. Have each team select a product featured at CES.
- Scewo Bro: https://www.scewo.com/en/ (Power wheelchair)
- L’Oreal Hapta: https://www.loreal.com/en/articles/science-and-technology/hapta-ces-2023-lancome-innovation/ (For beauty lovers with limited hand and arm mobility)
- Xander Glasses: https://www.xander.tech/ (Augmented listening for people who are hard of hearing)
- Jabra Enhance Plus: https://www.jabra.com/hearing/enhance-plus?gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT_SGnooIY_nEW554M23GwsvGWKrIKnazpnbsvmc1Rh1Gi87YUm8kQsaAhwGEALw_wcB##21879090 (Earbuds for enhancing your hearing)
- Whispp: https://whispp.com/?lang=en (Speech amplifier for people with a voice disorder)
- Instruct students to research the products online, and define a target market for the product?
- Which ones do they think will be winners in the marketplace? What products miss the mark?
- Discuss the use of trade shows and exhibits as part of a marketing plan.
Source: C/NET; TechRadar; The Verge; Wall Street Journal; other news sources
