The 2013 International CES is a world-leading show featuring the latest in consumer electronics business and technology. This article highlights six stories to watch during the show:
Ultra high-definition TV
Ultra high-definition TV is the next evolutionary upgrade in high-definition television, delivering more life-like pictures than HDTV. With an estimated $20,000 price tag, ultra HDTV sets for now are too expensive for mass market consumption, especially when you consider that ultra high-definition content is not yet commercially available.
Market momentum will likely wait until consumers become more familiar with the technology, manufacturers reduce prices, and content providers embrace the format. The timeframe to adoption will depend on how quickly content and service providers enable ultra HDTV content delivery. In the meantime, TV manufacturers will show plenty of 3D TVs and Internet connected TVs.
Back to top
Smart cars
Car manufacturers are expected to join more than 100 automotive technology companies exhibiting the latest in smart cars. Key leading-edge technologies demonstrated will include self-driving/autonomous vehicles, connected cars and electric vehicles. Global positioning satellite and sensor technologies enable self-driving/autonomous vehicles to self-navigate traffic. Self-driving technology is already being used for lane warning systems, collision detection, adaptive cruise control and parking guidance. In connected cars, infotainment technologies provide entertainment, communication, safety and driver assistance. Electric vehicles, which are rising in popularity as escalating gas prices and ecological awareness spreads to more consumers, will benefit from new advances in charging stations and mobile functionality.
Back to top
Telehealth: Fitness technology and remote health monitoring
Telehealth devices allow doctors and nurses to monitor outpatient health remotely in patients’ homes , thereby avoiding non-critical and costly re-admissions to hospitals and facilitating less obtrusive preventive care. These products will include health monitoring and wearable telehealth devices; devices that store, display and process blood pressure, chronic disease and diet data; remote stethoscopes; disposable body patches; smartphone peripherals; and electrocardiogram devices for measuring heart rhythms.
The number and variety of these telehealth devices on the market is expected to increase significantly over the next four years, driving more promising business opportunities for device manufacturers, network providers, and insurers. More than 200 companies are expected to exhibit digital heath technologies at the show.
Back to top
The mobile applications avalanche
The rising number of applications for smartphones has been a prominent story at the past few CES events. This will continue during CES 2013 where an avalanche of broader and more numerous applications that connect consumers to home, work and on-the-go will be unveiled. Applications will provide controls for home management, health monitoring and automobiles. Likewise, a large number of mobile tool and applications for HTML5 will be shown, enabling software support across various smartphone platforms. In three years, it is likely most smartphones will have browsers supporting HTML5.
Back to top
3D printing for producing products
At least seven companies are expected to show 3D printers at CES 2013, demonstrating the technology’s potential benefits for a wide swath of industries and users. 3D printing uses an additive process to create an exact physical duplicate of a product based on a digital model. Using this process, a broad range of products can be produced including smartphone cases, clothing, prosthetic limb casings and airplane wings.
Because the 3D printing process occurs much faster than traditional manufacturing processes that require more specialized expertise and more logistical production steps, companies can bring more products to market faster. Manufacturers can also produce experimental or customized products previously too expensive using traditional manufacturing methods.
3D printing now gives manufacturers this latitude. The consumer space is a key market for 3D. Small steps have been made in this space via hobbyists and model makers in arts and craft projects and self-employed designers. General 3D printing in the home has not arrived yet but that will pick up as prices come down and the technology proliferates.
Back to top
Convertible PCs
There will be considerable activity around convertible, all-in-one PCs at the event. These are devices with a keyboard that can do PC tasks but also transform into a tablet with touchscreen capabilities. The second wave of Ultrabooks and latest batch of new tablet PCs are pushing this form factor momentum. With keyboard and touchscreen capabilities, the industry is driving Windows 8 to facilitate these new form factors. So far, sales have been relatively modest for this nascent market, but CES 2013 should draw more attention to these devices.
Back to top