The CES in Las Vegas is not a fair like the others. This high mass of tech may have existed for half a century, but it remains an example of the most extravagant in terms of events. This is where unusual and spectacular gadgets are revealed. It’s also a place that leaves first-time visitors dumbfounded when they realize, after hours of roaming the gaudyly decorated rooms, that they’ve actually seen only an infinitesimal portion of the site. .
The Consumer Electronic Show is spread over several hotels and several sites. To go from one to the other, you have to enter a baroque maze of alleys lined with slot machines and corridors with kitsch floral carpets. We would not be surprised if the locals find, each year, the skeletons of a few exhibitors who have never managed to find the exit. This CES 2023, however, is out of the ordinary. Not that it features more eccentric innovations than before, but because it does precisely the opposite. The Las Vegas show is finally interested in innovations that respond to major problems of society, and not just TVs, phones and gadgets. Review of the most interesting trends of the show.
Technology at the service of health
The health tech reserved some of the most beautiful surprises of CES 2023. Withing’s U-Scan connected urine sensor was, rightly, one of the stars of the show. The manufacturer has unveiled an interesting object that just needs to be clipped into the toilet to benefit from regular urinalysis. A dedicated application displays the results of the analysis (urine pH, ketones, hydration, etc.). He is not the only Frenchman to have unveiled a promising solution in the field. I-Virtual revealed a tool, Caducy, to measure vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, etc.) from a simple 30-second video selfie.
And Lifeaz presented a defibrillator designed for the general public with very simple use and an appropriate price – 1,000 euros for purchase or 30 euros per month. “Defibrillators located in public places are useful. But most cardiac arrests happen at home,” pleads the company. The era of “wellness” gadgets with unproven benefits is coming to an end, and that’s good: make way for serious manufacturers and medically certified products. France and Europe will however have to pay particular attention to this market if they want to hope to place their pawns there. “For the time being, 80% of fundraising and 50% of the global medtech, biotech and digital health market are in the United States”, points out Frédéric Rossi, director of the North America zone of Business France.
Green light for green tech
The fight against climate change is on everyone’s mind, and this can be seen in the aisles of the CES, which were full of green mobility devices (scooters, bicycles, etc.) and ecological solutions. “This is the first time that we have come across American venture capitalists in the aisles of the CES looking for green tech in which to invest”, confides Frédéric Rossi. In the field, French Tech has distinguished itself with Acwa, a caterpillar robot capable of traversing the pipes in order to analyze them from the inside and better prevent leaks.
The startup Green Tech Innovations presented the Solar E-Light, a photovoltaic street lamp. “It uses the energy accumulated during the day at night, which reduces the electricity bill of communities to zero, and can even bring them a new income”, argues David Chquiry, its CEO. Fogo, meanwhile, presented its ultra-thin smart radiator which reduces consumption thanks to new generation materials (high performance fiber concrete, graphene) and an AI which adjusts the heating as closely as possible to needs.
cars everywhere
Cars have become the stars of CES. Stellantis, Mercedez-Benz, Volvo… A host of manufacturers now have their stands there in a dedicated pavilion. During this edition, Sony and Honda finally showed the prototype electric car on which they are working together: the Afeela. It is lined with sensors (45 in all) and has a large screen at the dashboard. It should be launched in 2025. BMW also wowed the public with the I Vision Dee, a concept car with an e-ink body, capable of changing color in seconds.
Many companies finally came to present their latest advances ininfotainment or machine vision. One more proof that cars are turning into real computers on wheels. This requires manufacturers to collaborate or hire profiles different from those they recruited so far. It also paves the way for new business models. “Increasingly, manufacturers will upgrade cars after purchase. Customers will be able to unlock, by purchasing or subscribing to them, new software options,” explains the French EpicnPoc team.
Beauty tech catches the eye
Fine powders, delicate ointments, colored pigments… One might think that beauty and technology don’t have much to say to each other. It would be a mistake. This year again, L’Oréal won several CES innovation awards with well-thought-out inventions. For example, Brow Magic, a device capable of printing temporary makeup on the eyebrows. “Our mobile application analyzes the morphology of your face and offers you several eyebrow shapes. The device then identifies precisely where it is on the face and in order to apply each line of color with precision”, explains Alexis Perakis- Valat, president of the consumer division L’Oréal. And the operation is done at lightning speed.
Brow Magic joins L’Oréal’s range of very rich innovations: last year, for example, the group presented ColorSonic, a cartridge device that makes it much easier to color at home, and whose marketing will start in next year in the United States. L’Oréal had also developed an online solution that identifies, using AI and a simple video selfie, the shade of foundation adapted to a skin tone, with a success rate of 90%. Clever innovations at a time when more and more purchases are made online.
The issue of accessibility
Manufacturers have long neglected the specific needs of certain users, in particular disabled people. It’s changing. Sony has presented a new customizable PlayStation 5 controller that should help people with motor problems to enjoy their games. L’Oréal, again, has unveiled Hapta, an ultra-precise automated make-up applicator for people with reduced arm or hand mobility. Among the innovations rewarded by CES 2023, we should also mention Mydys by FACIL’iti, an application that allows people with dyslexia to scan text and display it in a way that is more readable for them, by highlighting, for example, the most frequently reversed or by adjusting word spacing.