i3 | January 03, 2022

Trends Shaping the Economy of Tomorrow at CES 2022

CES will display the next wave of innovation that will shape 2022 and the economy of tomorrow. The show features 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 is on display with the entire intelligent automation value chain highlighted at 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, CES 2022 is an intelligent mobility event.

Critically, the expanding applications for AVs is a centerpiece for the show with the appearance of TuSimple and its focus on enterprise fleet applications with their self-driving trucks. While rideshare and passenger vehicle use cases make headlines, the promise of AVs for enterprise is even closer to fruition. As ongoing constraints in the global supply chain persist, automation in portions of the process such as TuSimple’s self-driving trucks could provide much needed fixes in shipping bottlenecks.

Still, AV technology is not the only area where AI solutions shine. First-time exhibitor Beyond Honeycomb is demonstrating how automation is propelling innovation forward in the growing Food Tech sector. Beyond Honeycomb is showcasing its technology that allows sensors to study a recipe, AI to learn a dish, and then allow a robotic kitchen to prepare the meal.

The entire automation value chain is highlighted at CES 2022.

The Nascent Metaverse

The pandemic has also accelerated the evolution of interactive, online and on-demand consumer products and services across industries to shape an emerging metaverse. CES 2022 features 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 allow 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 are displaying the latest in gaming technology, while also highlighting its connection to the metaverse.

XR (unknown realities) tech at CES will underscore the elevation of these technologies to their role as vital gateways to the metaverse. MAD Gaze is showing its 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 major brands and try on clothes virtually with the Lenses superimposing clothes on the consumer, is exhibiting at C Space at the ARIA.

The metaverse implications on the future of commerce extends further as cryptocurrency and NFTs will 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 represents an inflection point for the mainstream appeal of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based digital asset technologies.

The new Non-Fungible Token (NFT) and Digital Assets Program at CES features NFTs, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other blockchain technologies. Notably, Atomic Form is showcasing its technology designed to aggregate and display NFT art as part of C Space.

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