Las Vegas gets ready for Consumer Electronics Show

Augmented reality, electric cars and robots are just some of the themes that we can expect to features heavily at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) event in Las Vegas this week.

When CES rolls around every year, there are the inevitable slew of launches from consumer technology firms, eager to make a splash at the show with the largest TV, the smartest appliance, the most innovative car.

It opens its doors on Tuesday, but the major tech firms are gathering to release their latest products on Monday. Expect more big TVs and a shift from virtual reality to augmented reality as two of the major themes of the 2018 event, while Google facing down Amazon's Alexa will also be an interesting topic. Smart cities, artificial intelligence and digital currency will all get their own areas within CES this year, a new development for 2018 that mirrors the developments and interests of the tech industry as a whole.

Tech firms will no doubt be on the charm offensive too, trying to do some damage limitation as the concerns about security of devices persist. The revelation of last week that two flaws in the design of microchips could put our personal information at risk has frightened people, and when coupled with a rising interest in privacy and how our reliances on connected devices can put that at risk, it is not surprising.

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Irish presence

CES has always been one for the big firms, but in recent years, it has also begun attracting start-ups. Its Eureka Park exhibition space, once a small corner of the main event, has grown significantly in size over a short period of time. This year, more than 900 start-ups will exhibit at Eureka Park, a 50 per cent increase on last year.

Some Irish companies will be in attendance too. US and Belfast-based Neurovalens has been named as a finalist in Last Gadget Standing, a competition to hunt down the most innovative product of CES 2018. Its Modius weight-loss band has been nominated for the competition.

"CES is constantly evolving to capture the technologies and innovation of the future. It changes as our industry morphs and showcases the most cutting-edge work the tech world has to offer," said Gary Shapiro, president of the CTA. "CES 2018 has more new dedicated technology areas than I can ever remember us having in one year, and that speaks to the way technology is now in every single part of our lives, to make living easier through connectivity."

CES opens officially on January 9th and runs until January 12th.