The global pandemic has forced all of us to go digital and online events are no longer uncommon, even when it comes to global shows such as CES. As one of the world’s most influential tech events, CES is where breakthrough technologies converge, the sharpest innovators hit the stage, and the world’s biggest brands do business.
CES 2021 made history as the largest virtual tech event. It featured every aspect of the tech sector and covered over 40 product categories including AI, IoT and sensors, 5G connectivity, AR and VR, blockchain, digital health, drones, fintech, e-commerce, robotics, smart homes, and smart cities. Almost 2,000 companies launched their products during this event.
Auriga certainly could not miss this first-ever all-digital CES 2021 and joined over 80,000 attendees from 167 countries to network with the global tech community, meet new prospects and partners, experience innovation, and discover new takeaways. This article covers some of the biggest CES 2021 trends that will impact Auriga’s focus areas such as healthcare and reshape our lives in the coming years.
Artificial Intelligence Everywhere
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is definitely the hottest trend disrupting nearly all industries, including retail, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and finance. CES 2021 featured the latest hardware and software AI solutions that are taking the user experience to the next level, leveraging speech recognition and machine learning.
Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) is taking off as the mass adoption of AI and IoT devices becomes increasingly prevalent in our lives. CES 2021 showcased numerous examples of AIoT, including applications of AI in fitness technology, where AI detects how users move, tracks and analyzes their posture during workouts, and provides real-time feedback.
The level of AI adoption varies between different industries. While telecom and high-tech sectors lead the way, healthcare continues to struggle with AI acceptance as an industry. Physicians and patients are understandably wary of relying on emerging technology. However, to those who can successfully make it more trustworthy, explainable, and transparent, AI promises better outcomes and lower costs.
While trust in AI has yet to be achieved, it already plays an important role in revolutionizing productivity, automating processes, improving safety, personalizing experiences, and making the world more accessible. Auriga continues to monitor the development of AI and machine learning technologies to apply them in business cases and add value to our clients’ projects.
Cloud Computing on the Rise
As an underlying technical foundation for AI, cloud computing enables businesses to innovate faster by operating vast amounts of data and meeting customer needs by providing flexibility, scalability, and ubiquitous access. However, the transition to cloud computing unavoidably results in cybersecurity challenges; companies have to learn how to manage this process efficiently.
COVID-19 has made many companies realize that they have to migrate to the cloud fast and fundamentally reimagine their entire business including their products and services and how they engage with customers. Analysts forecast that the aggressive move to the cloud will spike in 2021, yielding even greater enterprise adoption, business continuity, and cost efficiencies.
CES 2021 demonstrated that it is clearly time for businesses to develop their cloud-first strategies and make this their new normal. With this in mind, Auriga provides customizable cloud development, migration, and deployment solutions to accelerate customers’ digital transformation plans and help them overcome most of the barriers on this long but exciting journey.
Digital Health and Telemedicine
Health tech was a key topic at CES 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that unprecedentedly accelerated digital health and telemedicine innovations. The event showcased multiple pandemic-specific solutions, public health management devices, and medical-grade remote monitoring devices designed for home use that still allowed doctors to access patients’ data.
Healthcare has long been a key area for Auriga; we closely watch all industry trends. Our medical projects range from system-level and embedded software for medical equipment, including patient monitoring, ICU solutions, infusion pumps, and dialysis systems to mHealth solutions, remote health control, telehealth, and hospital information systems integrated into hospitals’ infrastructure.
CES 2021 showed us that hospital-at-home is becoming a reality when physical distancing is a necessity. Experts forecast that virtual care will continue becoming commonplace as more patients choose telehealth as their first choice for care access. The industry is moving toward the integration of in-home medical devices with point-in-time data measured in physical visits that allow for the collection of data without interrupting patients’ daily routines. In the post-pandemic world, digital health and telemedicine technologies are expected to further grow and improve, even though there is an emergent debate over how to integrate them with existing systems and how to fairly address the costs of virtual healthcare. Health tech development will result in a more in-depth picture of patients’ well-being, which will drive more actionable insights and better consumer experiences in healthcare.
Summing Up
Yuri Kirkel, EVP at Auriga, commented on his participation in CES 2021:
Although the all-digital trade show was a totally new experience, CES 2021 turned out to be a great virtual expo and a platform for online business networking and matchmaking. While health and safety are global priorities, it is quite an effective format to explore the latest trends, connect with industry peers and thought leaders, and find new business opportunities in our strategic markets.”
The next CES is already on our calendars; it is scheduled for January 5–8, 2022, both virtually and offline, and we are looking forward to participating. That said, we are also going to participate in another digital event, Embedded World, in March 2021. This time, we will both attend and exhibit at the virtual trade fair. Please stay tuned, we will be sharing more about this exciting experience very soon.
