The CES marks the traditional start of the year for all technology sectors. The fair officially opens on Thursday, but the show starts two days earlier with numerous press conferences and presentations. The editors of heise online and c’t report from Las Vegas.
Originally a show for the consumer electronics and television industries, CES has grown to showcase technological innovations across a wide range of applications and industries. As an order fair for consumer electronics, the CES still plays an important role, but mainly for the North American market. Nevertheless, the CES emits impulses for the whole world.
International Motor Show
In addition to new televisions and computers, the automotive industry will also show what it has to offer technically. The Germans are also on site with everything that has status and reputation: Audi, BMW, Mercedes and VW are in Las Vegas, as are the suppliers Continental and ZF. VW will probably present a new production model based on the “Aero” at CES. BMW wants to present its vision of a “new class” of electric vehicles. The manufacturer had developed a mysterious social media campaign for this purpose. BMW boss Oliver Zipse will probably reveal more in his keynote on Wednesday.
The CES sees itself as a marketplace for ideas and innovations. The organizer, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), had the “consumers” in mind. In 2023, the CES will expand the focus and put itself under the motto “Human Security”.
“We’ve talked a lot about how we use technology to meet the challenges of this world,” CTA Vice President Kinsey Fabrizio told the AP. “But we haven’t had an overarching theme for CES before. It’s always been about innovation and great products for consumers. But this time, the theme will be visible across the show floor and in other locations.”
Fabrizio gives examples from the agricultural industry and politics: “John Deere shows agricultural technology that contributes to sustainability and food availability. Another company has developed a secure voting process on the blockchain that is in line with the efforts of the United Nations for political security .”
Back to normal
Apart from fluffy trade fair mottos, the main thing for the CES this year is to find a way back to the normality we knew before. After a compulsory break due to the pandemic, this did not succeed last year: only 40,000 visitors came to CES 2022. The last edition of CES before the coronavirus pandemic had over 170,000 visitors. This dent, which the virus has missed at all major global events, can only be slowly bulged out again.
The organizers are confident that significantly more people will come to Las Vegas from Tuesday. “We are expecting around 100,000 visitors,” CTA boss Gary Shapiro had set the target in advance. The CTA reports over 3100 participating companies, including numerous startups from Europe. In 2020 there were still 4400 exhibitors. So it’s not quite “business as usual” yet, but the trade fair is visibly recovering. Construction work at the Las Vegas Convention CC (LVCC) and some hotels has been in full swing since Christmas.
While the pandemic-related restrictions of recent years have largely been lifted, foreign visitors are still required to provide proof of an approved Covid vaccination when entering the United States. CES visitors arriving from China, Hong Kong or Macau must also present a negative test. The CTA recommends all visitors to take a test before arrival and to refresh their flu and Covid vaccinations. There is no obligation to wear a mask.
(vbr)
