CES 2017: Preview and a Projection for the Future

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Happy New Year 2017!

Well here we are again; one more year has gone. Think back to one year ago and look at all that has happened, including recent political happenings, technical advances in 3-D printing and manufacturing, and the huge improvement in display technology, what with OLED and HDR putting everyday 4K displays into the background and driving the proverbial nail in 3D TVs. Look at what is happening with Drone Tek as well as robotics.

The IoT has gone from promising to functional and cool to almost ridiculous. Do you really need a smart garbage can or a connected toilet seat? Yes, I have received invites to review these items and others like them at CES.

So, I’m preparing to head for Vegas to spend five days at CES with my focus primarily on disruptive technologies. This year I have a dual mission, the first being to cover new technologies, promising new products and trends and to report to you, the readers. I also will be giving a talk at the IPC Executive PCB Forum in San Diego at IPC APEX EXPO in a couple months. This event, under the leadership of Gene Weiner, is sponsored by the Raymond E. Pritchard IPC Hall of Fame members. The title of my talk will be “Disruptive Technologies: New Products Entering the Marketplace and the Technologies Used to Make It Happen: A Report from the 2017 CES Show in Las Vegas and an Update on 3D Printing.” The expectations for this forum are high, as is the pressure over the next week.

There are many other things that we hope to see and I have several interviews scheduled; many of the things I will end up reporting on I do not even know about yet. As usual, I will be covering events such as the Eureka Park exhibits; the always interesting Shark Tank-like event Launchit; Showstoppers, where select exhibitors get to show their latest and greatest and discuss in detail privately with the press; and several other private press events such as the highly-anticipated NVidia event. This one will again focus on smart automotive technology and the amazing advances in GPU power, which is needed for Virtual Reality. Speaking of VR, I predict that 2017 will be the year it starts to become mainstream and announcements by companies such as NVIDIA will tell us just how much progress has been made.

In addition, I will be looking at many new PC (personal computer, not political correctness) components, the aforementioned new HDR display technology’s amazing graphic abilities planned for not only computer monitors but also the next gen TV displays, using OLED and 4K or even 5K resolution, USB3 C, snap and go devices, and so much more.

In the meantime, if there is any specific technology or product you would like me to see, please contact me and I will do my best.

A few predictions:

• Upcoming TV and display technology will obsolete the best displays of 2016, so wait a few months before buying that new T V or monitor
• You will have a new friend at home, a form of robot, within the next few years
• All vestiges of privacy, even in your home, may soon go away but the biggest surprise is that many people realize this and do not care
• 3-D printing will take on an ever-increasing role in all types of manufacturing well beyond what was expected just a year ago
• VR, AR and mixed reality will be in wide use for many everyday applications and it will happen fast
• Health maintenance and medical diagnosis and treatment advances will make amazing progress; 3-D printing of prosthetics will become common
• Intelligent assistants such as Alexa, Google and Cortana will play an increasing role in our lives (and a large role in reducing our privacy)
• There will be some setbacks in the march to autonomous automotive use but it will happen and soon
• Artificial Intelligence will take an ever-increasing role in all the above

Stay tuned as I will be providing many pictures and comments on what I see and hear, day by day at CES 2017.