Navigating the AI wave: top 10 trends from CES ’24

We boiled down this year’s biggest conference into 10 key trends that (surprise) revolve around AI’s most promising benefits and practical applications.

In January, the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show – CES® – unleashed a swarm of emerging technologies that are driving both present and future advancements. The prevailing theme? Artificial Intelligence. With 2023 dubbed the “Year of AI,” we weren’t that shocked to see AI ubiquitous in all facets of innovation showcased at CES; from wearables and immersive technologies to robotics and semiconductor chips.

Beyond mere buzz, brands flocked to CES eager to explore the tangible applications of AI. In the aftermath of CES, we’ve distilled our observations into 10 trends spanning five key pillars, each exemplifying AI’s key benefits: Knowledge Enhancement, Convenience and Safety, Immersive Experiences, Augmented Decision Making, and Efficiency.

Read on as we unpack these industry-defining trends.

Pillar #1: Knowledge Enhancement

AI’s power to unlock unprecedented insights into our health and the world around us signals a leap towards more informed and frictionless living.

Trend #1: DIY Diagnosis.

Forget looking up your symptoms on WebMD.com, health management is getting personal and proactive with at-home diagnostics tools. Wearables, facial scans, at-home urine tests, and more provide real-time insights and personalized health recommendations, empowering users to take charge of their well-being.

• 💥 Impact:
  –For Consumers: Detect symptoms early for better health outcomes.
  -For Businesses: Generate more frequent yet meaningful consumer touch points.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a life sciences company collaborate with research institutions and startups to create accessible self-diagnosing products and complementary services?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Withings’ BeamO device offers a complete at-home health checkup in just one minute, including insights into your heart and respiratory system. Another one we liked was FaceHeart, which provides information on your vitals in 60 seconds or less using AI image recognition technology.

Trend #2: Intelligent Accessories.

Brace yourselves for the biggest fashion trend of the decade: AI hardware accessories are officially “IN.” These aren’t your run-of-the-mill gadgets; they’re wearable computers that seamlessly integrate into our lives. From capturing photos intuitively to transcribing notes, these accessories are redefining our relationship with technology.

• 💥 Impact:
  –For Consumers: Enable seamless and personalized services and experiences.
  –For Businesses. Reach and engage with customers in the moments that matter.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a major theme park operator use AI-powered accessories to enhance visitor experiences by providing real-time information about queue wait times and unlocking interactions with beloved film characters?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Of course, everybody was talking about Meta’s Ray Ban collection and the rabbit r1 — two prime examples of how we see this trend unfolding in the market — but we wanted to spotlight another example: Wisear, a Techstars backed startup, enables consumers to achieve voiceless and touchless controls over their everyday devices through its patent-pending neural decoding technology, Wisearphones.

Pillar #2: Convenience & Safety

Through AI, our homes and cars are becoming guardians of our well-being, adding layers of convenience and safety to our lives.

Trend #3: Robotic Helping Hands.

The average household is getting larger…in the form factor of a small, mobile, metal companion. Robotic adoption is primed to accelerate due to advancements in machine learning, autonomous software, and rising consumer demand for security and convenience. These robots streamline daily tasks, from making coffee to keeping an eye on the dog when you are away from home.

• 💥 Impact:
  – For Consumers: Achieve greater convenience and safety in the home.
  –For Businesses: Unlock a wealth of new insights pertaining to the home and homeowner behavior to fuel meaningful growth opportunities.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a P&C insurer leverage robotics to bolster the safety and well-being of homeowners — from detecting potential leaks to assisting with day-to-day chores?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Ogmen Robotics supports family care through robotic companions that monitor and care for the well-being of pets, children, and the elderly. We also took note of larger tech players dropping their own robotic home care companions, including Samsung’s Ballie and LG’s two-legged Smart Home AI Agent.

Trend #4: Smart(er) Cars.

Fully autonomous cars may not be mainstream, but drivers are steadily lifting fewer fingers as AI-powered advancements make driving safer and more intuitive. From autonomous features to personalized hands-free assistance, cars are becoming smarter companions on the road.

• 💥 Impact:
  -For Consumers: Benefit from improved safety and personalized in-car experiences.
  –For Businesses: Uncover new revenue opportunities through value-added software services.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might an OEM use AI and autonomous technologies to reduce the stress of driving and create a more streamlined in-car experience?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Leveraging generative AI and Amazon Alexa, BMW’s new Intelligent Personal Assistant can converse with drivers and carry out functions like climate control, lights, media, and experience modes.

Pillar #3: Immersive Experiences

AI is redefining customer interactions by supercharging immersive experiences that were once the stuff of science fiction — shifting immersive experiences from a nice-to-have to a must-have competitive advantage.

Trend #5: Screen 3.0.

It’s not just bigger and better, screens are evolving beyond size and resolution, offering immersive, interactive, and versatile experiences. Whether it is augmented, touchless, transparent, or projected, screen advancements are transforming how we engage with digital content.

• 💥 Impact:
  -For Consumers: Enable more hygienic and intuitive user interactions.
  –For Businesses: Drive increased brand awareness, engagement, and conversion.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might an airline leverage touchless and 3D screen technologies to make displays more engaging and hygienic?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Leia, a 3D technology company (named after the Princess Leia hologram in Star Wars Episode IV), is pioneering holographic experiences on any device to create a digital future as rich as our 3D world. We also recommend you check out Hypervsn, creating next-gen signage for companies like LVMH, and Ultraleap, which is retrofitting digital interfaces to make them touchless.

Trend #6: Build-a-Metaverse.

Metaverse may have taken a back seat this year, but thanks to AI, it’s becoming more of a reality and less of a sci-fi concept. AI is transforming the metaverse in two ways: 1) Making it easier to build, 2) Enabling more personalized user experiences. From gaming to learning, the metaverse offers limitless possibilities for high-engagement brand interaction.

• 💥 Impact:
  –For Consumers: Uncover more personalized, accessible, and informative brand experiences.
  –For Businesses: Unlock a new channel to reach customers, particularly the younger, gaming-native generations.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a beauty retailer create a virtual branded store using AI and metaverse technologies to offer a more personalized, accessible, and informative shopping experience?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Obsess, a top experiential e-commerce platform, powers immersive, interactive 3D, and 360-degree virtual experiences for Fortune 500 brands. It’s compatible with desktop, mobile, and Apple Vision Pro. Explore the new Crate & Barrel virtual flagship store here.
  

Pillar #4: Augmented Decision Making

AI aids in complex decision-making processes, providing clarity and precision in the business units that matter most.

Trend #7: Consumer Bullseye.

The margin for error of who to target, when, how, and with what content is dwindling as AI empowers marketing and sales to directly resonate with target customers. There is a decreased reliance on guesswork that can lead to ineffective campaigns, as AI tools help target the right customers at the right time with the right content.

• 💥 Impact:
  –For Customers: Unlock more personalized and relevant touch points.
  –For Businesses: Optimize marketing and sales strategies.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a luxury fashion brand use AI to analyze qualitative data from social media and surveys to uncover changes in customer sentiment over time?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Glimpsehere uses cutting-edge generative AI capabilities to help businesses gain insights into qualitative feedback at scale and test marketing messages with virtual personas.

Trend #8: Sticky Success.

Through AI, R&D is becoming less art and more science, enabling teams to launch innovations more likely to stick in the market. Tasks like searching for patents, identifying market gaps, and validating ideas can be bolstered by AI to accelerate innovation and market success.

• 💥 Impact:
  –For Customers: Access more frequent, relevant, and affordable innovations.
  –For Businesses: Achieve faster innovation at reduced costs.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a beverage company use AI to identify and validate top flavor combinations of 2025 that are most likely to resonate with Gen Z customers?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: Prelaunch connects innovative products with potential customers before market entry. Another one of its features includes an AI Market Research Assistant that reviews and assesses competitor praises and complaints to uncover market opportunities.

Pillar #5: Efficiency

The drive towards efficiency is finding its champion in AI, optimizing operations across industries for better outcomes.

Trend #9: Company Clone.

Seeing double? Companies with a physical footprint are making digital copies. AI, IoT, and digital twin technologies enable companies to create dynamic virtual replicas of their properties, people, and processes to not only better understand their present, but better predict the future.

• 💥 Impact:
  -For Customers: Enhance decision-making with real-time information and recommendations.
  –For Businesses: Gain real-time and predictive insights into operations to more efficiently address potential issues.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a Tier One Supplier leverage digital twin technologies to design an offering that helps OEMs better predict and prevent failures in their vehicles?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: In a CES ’24 keynote, the CEO of Siemens fully endorsed digital twins and discussed plans to build an ‘Industrial Metaverse’ with NVIDIA, enabling companies to monitor their physical assets in real time.

Trend #10: Cloud-Free Days.

We are entering an era of less loading lags as AI at the edge brings intelligence closer to the source, enabling us to enjoy faster, smarter, and more secure experiences, without reliance on the cloud or internet. From smart devices to autonomous systems, digital experiences are thriving with AI at the edge.

• 💥 Impact:
  –For Customers: Unlock faster and more reliable device performance.
  –For Businesses: Drive lower data transmission costs and latency.
• 💭 Thought Starter: How might a fleet operator leverage AI at the edge to optimize routing and delivery, and enhance warehouse automation?
• 👀 What We Saw at CES: NVIDIA released new AI chip modules powering on-device AI applications that are embedded in anything from delivery robots to autonomous mining vehicles.

Bringing these trends to life

CES 2024 was a resounding call for businesses and individuals alike to adapt to an AI-infused future. Understanding and integrating these AI applications is no longer optional but essential for thriving in a rapidly evolving world.

At the Applied Innovation Exchange, we help businesses experiment and explore new technologies so that they can bring transformative, industry-leading innovations to market. We enable this through our rich and diverse ecosystem of experts, startups, alliance partners, and Capgemini capabilities to deliver pinnacle innovation engagements: Workshops, experimentations, functional prototypes, and ecosystem collaborations. Get in touch with us today to learn more and find out how you can step into tomorrow.