As long as CES can still draw the crowds and the world's media, it will retain its importance amongst technology companies and this year saw firms from across a wide range of sectors attending. Once a show intended solely for the entertainment industry, CES is now a platform for all types of technical innovation, offering a glimpse of products that may, or may not, be used in the months or years ahead – from new TVs, smartphones and watches, to wearable devices, drones and robots, 3D printers, connected cars and devices for the smart home.
At the show's launch event Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of organiser the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), talked of CES being defined by the very word 'innovation' and of being a showcase for both small and large companies. In fact this year, at the specially created Eureka Park, some 375 start-ups were present – a significant increase on last year – having been offered a platform to engage with future investors.
Intel's CEO Brian Krzanich in his keynote address that 2015 marked the next technology consumer wave. "We're moving from a two dimensional world to a three dimensional world," he said. "This additional dimension will change how we experience computing."
One attendee, Eric Braddom, vice president of strategy for the Consumer Solutions division at TE Connectivity, thought the show one of the best he'd been to in recent years. "I've been attending CES for the last 10 years and this was the first CES I have been to where I have seen innovative applications that were truly compelling or valuable."
A world of science fiction made real?
Home automation
Home automation was a major theme at CES, driven by the Internet of Things. A variety of products were on display offering security and the usual promise of making life significantly easier for consumers.
Behind the PR 'puff' that's often associated with CES, there were some interesting technologies and products to be seen.
Imagination's FlowCloud device-to-cloud technology was demonstrated in a range of smart home applications, including a home heating control system built on the company's chipKIT WiFire development board which features a MIPS-based PIC32 MCU from Microchip Technology.
Umbrela, a home automation platform that can adjust everything from lights and music to security systems automatically, drew attention.
The platform, which replaces switches and outlets with Smart Covers or 'virtual switches', is filled with a variety of sensors that can monitor temperature, humidity, light and motion and, by using the data collected, can dim lights, play music and stream security video to a user's mobile device.
"One interesting exhibit," according to Braddom, "was LG's Hom-Bot Square device; a robotic vacuum cleaner. But it's a lot more than that. It is not only capable of adapting to and recognising its environment, it has been fitted with a front-facing camera that, when controlled remotely via Wi-Fi technology and a smartphone app, can form part of an enhanced home security system.
"Onboard sensors can be used to trigger a picture to be taken and sent to the home owner, should unexpected movement be detected. Making a vacuum cleaner part of your home security system was not something I had thought about before."
Other devices within home automation included: Insteon's Hub, a platform that can control lamps and small appliances; Stack's Alba light bulb, a smart device capable of adjusting its colour and temperature, as well as turning itself on and off via Bluetooth; and the netatmo camera, which has been designed to recognise individual family members and to notify the user when they return home.
The proliferation of these types of devices for the home automation market has been helped by the roll-out of new microcontrollers and smartphone apps which have helped to reduce costs. However, commentators and analysts have warned that without a connecting protocol, this market could remain a niche. Simplicity of use and ease of adoption are going to be critical if this segment is to grow significantly and it will require greater collaboration between companies.
That was a theme taken up by Samsung's chief executive Boo Keun Yoon. During his keynote speech at CES, he said the push to create an Internet of Things would fail unless firms collaborated more and that the potential for the technology would go unrealised unless gadgets and appliances from different manufacturers could share data more easily.
At present, different control systems are being made by different firms and few are collaborating on a common way to interrogate and control devices.
"It is our job to pull together, as an industry, and across different sectors to make true on the promise of the Internet of Things," Yoon warned the conference.
Drones
Drones, quite literally, took off at CES 2015, which saw the debut of the Unmanned Systems Marketplace, highlighting the burgeoning technology in drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and other unmanned systems controlled by on-board computers or remotely from the ground.
According to CEA research, the global market for consumer drones will approach $130million in 2015, increasing by 55% from 2014, with unit sales of consumer drones expected to reach 400,000. The revenue from drone sales is expected to easily exceed $1billion in just five years.
"Drones and unmanned systems are being used to assist in a variety of applications, from aerial coverage for sports and real estate, to assistance in search and rescue and disaster relief missions," said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, International CES and corporate business strategy, CEA.
Drones were certainly everywhere at this year's show and the most interesting were those that were combined with wearable technology.
Winner of Intel's 'Make it Wearable' challenge, a prize worth $500,000 to the winners, the Nixie wearable drone was unveiled at the end of Krzanich's presentation. Despite having no controller, the device, which is worn on the arm, is simply removed and then tossed away. It then pauses to take a photo and returns to the sender.
The Zano selfie drone, which has a 'Follow Me' feature, is capable of following the user around at speeds of up to 25mph, having been locked in to maintaining a specific distance from a user's smart device – a boon for those who want to take photos while hanging off a cliff face or jumping from buildings.
The drone uses an on-board Wi-Fi connection to connect it to an iOS or Android device, where a companion app will enable the user to control the drone's position. A Free Flight mode is also available allowing users to more precisely control the device. On-board sensors mean that it is capable of providing a degree of obstacle avoidance.
Wearable electronics
Wearable electronics, while not centre stage as they were last year, still packing into a lot of floor space. No surprise whenm according to CSS Insight, the market, which has seen millions raised through crowd-funding, still offers huge potential for investors.
"The number and type of wearable devices on display was overwhelming," according to Tim Wang of Lattice Semiconductor. "There were hundreds of companies in attendance promoting glasses, watches, headbands, ear buds, clothing and jewellery. The demand for wearable is growing, driven in no small part by the push to develop health and fitness applications."
An interesting theme was the number of exhibitors demonstrating wearable products that didn't look like technical gadgets at all.
According to Braddom: "There was a noticeable trend to make wearable devices less conspicuous."
Proving that point, two companies – Misfit Wearables and Swarovski – had combined to provide activity trackers. The devices were primarily designed as fashionable accessories, rather than as obvious electronic gadgets.
"That looks like being an important trend in the wearables market," suggested Braddom. "As these devices become less conspicuous, so they will help to form an important part of an ecosystem that will be used to monitor and manage consumer's lives."
For UK companies like ARM and Imagination Technologies, CES provided an opportunity for companies using their latest technologies to show off new products and devices.
Nvidia took the opportunity to announce the release of the Tegra X1 mobile processor, which features ARM cores. Not only will this CPU be used in mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, but will also be used in self driving cars and some automation industries.
Tony King-Smith, EVP marketing at Imagination, said: "We saw more 'smart' and connected products using our technologies than ever before, including a number of new IoT and wearable products as these segments begin to ramp up production.
"In home entertainment, where there is a move toward studio quality audio and video, migration of 4K TV to the mainstream and the re-emergence of OLED as a potential volume TV display technology, there is a trend towards using the scalable technologies and customisable platforms available from Imagination."
A big theme at CES was virtual reality. The Oculus Crescent Bay headset enabled users to virtually tour an art museum, peer down at the Earth from the top of a skyscraper and partake in a video game putting the users at the centre of the action.
VR was not only used for immersive gaming, but also by companies to launch new products. For instance, General Motor's booth for OnStar offerings allowed visitors to use the Oculus headset to tour its new features in three different cars and scenarios.
Could virtual reality be about to change the way we actually consume content? More importantly, could virtual reality – after countless prototypes – be on the cusp of being taken seriously, commercialised and finally entering the consumer mainstream?
Then again, that will be a question being asked in the coming months about the many products and gadgets launched at this year's show.
