CES 2022: The trends shaping the tech of tomorrow

As CES returns to Las Vegas, the show will display the next wave of innovation that will shape 2022 and the economy of tomorrow. The show is set to feature a plethora of exhibitors advancing two of the most compelling technology megatrends of the future: intelligent automation and the evolution of the metaverse.

The Expansion of Intelligent Automation

Advancements in cloud infrastructure have allowed tech companies to pursue more expansive uses of intelligent automation. This will be critical as limited available hours and a tight labor market will require artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to play a larger role in the post-Covid economy.
 
A mainstay of past shows, autonomous vehicle (AV) technology will once again be on display with the intelligent automation technology’s entire value chain showcased throughout CES 2022. From AV chipmakers like Qualcomm (who recently acquired fellow CES exhibitor Veoneer to bolster their AV portfolio) to leaders in AV perception technologies like LIDAR leader Luminar to autonomous vehicle pioneer and first-time exhibitor Waymo (albeit virtually), CES 2022 decidedly will be an intelligent mobility event.
 
Critically, the expanding applications for AVs will be a centerpiece for the show with the appearance of TuSimple and their focus on the enterprise fleet applications with their self-driving trucks. While rideshare and passenger vehicle use cases rightfully make plenty of headlines, the promise of AVs for enterprise looks even closer to fruition. As ongoing constraints in the global supply chain persist, automation in portions of the process such TuSimple’s self-driving trucks could be deployed to provide much-needed fixes in shipping bottlenecks.
 
Still, AV technology will not be the only area where AI solutions shine. First-time exhibitor Beyond Honeycomb is poised to demonstrate how automation is propelling innovation forward in the rapidly growing FoodTech sector. Beyond Honeycomb will showcase their technology that allows sensors to study a recipe, AI to learn a dish, and then allow a robotic kitchen to prepare the meal.
 

The Nascent Metaverse

The pandemic has also accelerated the evolution of interactive, online, and on-demand consumer products and services across a collection of industries to shape an emerging metaverse. CES 2022 will feature the technologies that will form the foundations of this next-generation iteration of the internet.
 
The transformation of gaming into a dominant social media platform amid the pandemic sits at the core of the rise in the metaverse. Games like Roblox and Fortnite have allowed users to easily program their own games and build virtual worlds to construct shared experiences such as concerts and even graduation ceremonies in digital universes. As such, exhibitors like Razer will assuredly showcase their latest in gaming technology, while also highlighting its connection to the metaverse.
 
Relatedly, XR technology at CES will underscore the elevation of these technologies to their role as vital gateways to the metaverse. MAD Gaze will showcase their augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, an example of hardware that will power the metaverse. Meanwhile, Snap, which has expanded the application of its AR Lenses technology to ecommerce by allowing users to shop brands’ catalogs and try on clothes virtually with the Lenses superimposing clothes on the consumer, will be exhibiting at C Space at the Aria.
 
The metaverse implications on the future of commerce extends further as cryptocurrency and NFTs are poised to power this new segment of the digital economy. The debut of the first publicly traded crypto trading platform on a U.S. exchange via Coinbase represented an inflection point for the mainstream appeal of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based digital asset technologies.
 
As such, the arrival of CES 2022’s new Non-Fungible Token (NFT) and Digital Assets Program is timely as it features NFTs, initial coin offerings (ICOs), and other blockchain technologies. Notably, Atomic Form is set to showcase their technology designed to aggregate and display NFTs art as part of the C Space exhibitions.