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LAS VEGAS — As I walked onto the showroom floor in Las Vegas during CES, the largest technology trade exhibition globally, earlier this week, a sense of unease washed over me. I’ve been attending this event, on and off, for a decade, and the narrative remains unchanged: The industry introduces new devices for consumers, and they are marginally superior to the older versions. In spite of the excitement, it’s rare to encounter anything groundbreaking.
Yet, this year’s atmosphere felt somewhat altered.
The CES showroom floor showcased an array of new devices that are indeed slightly enhanced compared to previous versions, designed to make your daily life more convenient or enjoyable — TVs, robotic vacuum cleaners, stylish phone chargers. Nevertheless, what truly made an impression were the increasing number of products aimed at enhancing your well-being — and that of the planet.
From sophisticated fitness trackers to portable solar power systems, innovation reflects more than just packing in additional pixels on displays or incorporating AI functionality into laundry machines. It instills hope in me that tech firms, despite the despair they can occasionally evoke in individuals, might be steering us towards a brighter future after all.
CES, previously referred to as the Consumer Electronics Show, dominates Las Vegas in early January and holds significant importance. Last year, the exhibition drew in nearly 140,000 attendees, including market analysts, purchasers from major stores, venture capitalists, and journalists like myself, all of whom marveled at the latest gadgets and outlandish proposals, such as Samsung’s rolling robot that turns your floor into a display. This event determines what types of tech you might be able to acquire — but only in the forthcoming future. It’s comparable to visiting a theme park where you can merely observe the attractions.
The exhibition began as a much smaller event in New York City during the late 1960s, serving as the launchpad for groundbreaking technology like the first VCR, CD player, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Xbox. However, at this year’s exhibition, I found myself exploring unexpected areas of the convention center, particularly where sectors like digital health and energy storage were being highlighted.
When you think of digital health, it might conjure images of fitness trackers or Bluetooth-enabled sphygmomanometers, but this field is diversifying in surprising ways. New methods are emerging for collecting health data, unexpected approaches for monitoring your brain activity, and even AI-driven platforms that claim to improve health for the whole family.
And naturally, fitness trackers are part of the equation. With the skyrocketing fame of the Oura Ring, several other smart rings were displayed, including one named Evie, featuring an AI-driven chatbot educated on medical literature. There were also additional mechanisms for health monitoring, such as Lingo, a readily available continuous glucose monitoring device compatible with an application-based fitness trainer. (This technology is similar to what physicians are increasingly prescribing for diabetes patients.)
Speaking of trainers and AI, Panasonic is introducing a family wellness coach powered by Anthropic’s Claude AI. It’s named Umi, and it’s something I would contemplate utilizing for my family to monitor how everyone is feeling and even generate suggestions for enjoyable activities we can undertake together.
Health trackers also took on various designs. Master & Dynamic, an audio company, is selling headphones that can truly interpret your brainwaves thanks to technology from a startup, Neurable AI. The earcups are embedded with electroencephalography (EEG) sensors that can gauge your attentiveness. I tested the headphones and was astonished by their precision.
Similarly, a Canada-based enterprise named Myant produces “smart textiles,” a term I did not expect to find at CES. They are essentially garments that you wear featuring sensors woven into the fabric so that your undergarments or an armband can continuously monitor health indicators such as heart rate and body temperature.
This year, Myant is launching a new iteration of its technology that can also acquire EKG readings and provide continuous blood pressure measurements.
With all this information, your physician can obtain a significantly clearer understanding of your health than what a routine assessment from a smartwatch or ring could provide.
“We’re creating a DSL cable to connect to the human body to truly link the human operating system,” stated Myant’s founder and CEO Tony Chahine during a discussion. “Instead of viewing us as a device designed for a specific purpose, consider us as a platform for multiple applications.”
The innovations aimed at health are also expanding. Likely the most potentially impactful creation I observed at the entire exhibition was the OnMed CareStation. Essentially, it operates as a mobile clinic that can be deployed in rural areas or even in underprivileged neighborhoods in urban environments. Upon entering, the patient is welcomed by a human health professional displayed on a life-size screen and is guided through various diagnostic examinations utilizing tools like a blood pressure monitor and an otoscope that descends from the ceiling.
It represents a far more powerful and all-encompassing method of conducting a telehealth appointment via your smartphone. The entire setup merely requires a power outlet to operate and has internet connectivity via Starlink. Nevertheless, the company’s CEO Karthik Ganesh emphasizes that the sophisticated kiosk is more than just hardware.
“We have expended excessive energy believing technology is a magic solution,” Ganesh explained to me, illustrating that OnMed’s CareStations transform the way individuals can access their health requirements. In certain instances, it grants those residing in health care deserts access to a medical office they would not have otherwise encountered.
Although I did not anticipate encountering so many thrilling health-driven innovations at the exhibition, I had hoped to see substantial discussions surrounding sustainability and the energy transition. I was not let down.
One exhibit featuring three companies championing renewable energy provided an excellent illustration of how clean technology is entering our households in a significant manner. One such company, Biolite, initially focused on creating camp stoves capable of charging your phone but is now venturing into the home energy sector with a product named Backup that can effectively function like a generator during a power outage.
In the same exhibit area was a comparable company called Copper, which manufactures battery-powered appliances, including an induction cooktop that also functions during a power failure. Lastly, there was Gradient, which produces window-mounted heat pumps (this one currently lacks batteries) that promise to enhance energy-efficient heating and cooling in millions of households.
The energy transition is genuinely a focal point for nearly every business I engaged with. All of these new innovations highlight a significant transformation at the exhibition: For many years, advancements were about improving picture quality on TVs or audio quality in speakers, but if you trust many of the enterprises at CES this year, the emphasis has shifted to leveraging technology to enhance our lives — and our planet.
John Deere is electrifying its fleet of tractors — and making them autonomous to conserve energy. Volkswagen is introducing a series of satellite-connected electric SUVs under the nostalgic Scout label. Samsung and LG are expanding their ranges of heat pumps and heat pump-operated dryers, all of which are now internet-enabled.
Even Sony is preparing to launch an electric vehicle in collaboration with Honda. I had the opportunity to sit in it, and surrounded by screens and lidar sensors, it truly felt like existing in a science fiction reality. (It is expected to cost around $100,000, making it likely my only experience sitting in that vehicle.)
My CES experience this year spanned nearly a week, and as I exited the exhibition floor for the last time, my apprehension had dissipated leaving me feeling genuinely enthusiastic about the prospects in agriculture, smart cities, healthcare, and even culinary pursuits. Naturally, the innovations showcased at CES can take several months or years to transition into reality. It’s perfectly reasonable to feel impatient. Exciting developments are on the horizon.
