It seems like CES is back to 2020 participation levels. Crowds feel about the same however hotels are down slightly, maybe. There are new hotels since then. Exhibitors are 3,900 versus 4,400 in 2020.

I noticed the formality of CES has come back. People are more neatly dressed, more like they were ten years ago. This hit me the moment I got down to the hotel lobby on show day. While it seems like a little thing, I think there is a bigger story about the work-from-home culture coming out in public to make an impression. Many of these attendees never met their colleagues face-to-face before and wanted to make a good first impression. One comment I’ve heard three times now, “I thought they were (taller or shorter) than this…” when they met someone at the show who they only knew from Zoom.

I did a quick pass of Center Hall and immediately noticed that LG reused their exhibit entrance from 2020. This was disappointing. Crowds were too big to get inside for a deeper dive and more will be coming on that subject.

Sony didn’t show any new TVs that we could find, and instead emphasized the user experience with their products. This was a big letdown, and I suspect, we will see more booths like this. What it’s telling me more than anything is that the technological advancements may have declined and I’m guessing it’s the result of a COVID lockdown productivity drop. I’ll have to see more of the show before I draw conclusion about the efforts that went into CES.

Deep respect for Caterpillar who went through the trouble of bringing in a massive Cat 777 dump truck for mining operations. I believe the construction show follows CES so they get two kicks at the can on that one, but wow! That beast took some logistical planning to get to CES, not to mention the expense. Bravo Caterpillar!

Automotive is entirely about electric cars and what you don’t see are all the solutions necessary to produce and sustain electric vehicles which is a bit alarming. Cat is driving the point home; if you want batteries, you’re going to move a lot of dirt. This mining and energizing cars is going to become a real problem very soon. We’re already seeing long waits for rapid chargers and the problem isn’t going to get any better. It’s a topic others have been covering.

I’m still processing what I’ve seen so far. It’s hard to put the show in context to 2020 because the new convention center opened up, making it difficult to compare shows. We’re not seeing as many pointless human carrying drones this year. That’s a solution that doesn’t have a real use case yet. Helicopters are still a better, safer solution.

The new West Halll was filled with automotive solutions and again, the big emphasis is autonomous driving in one form or another. After walking the floor, it didn’t feel like we were any closer than before. CES has completely dismissed ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) solutions except for marine applications.

I continue to be impressed by Mercedes who seems to be leading a lot of automotive technologies and continues to turn out beautiful cars. I loved the marine drive systems by Mercury Marine and Volvo. Mercury was especially impressive with their V12 600 HP outboards turning dual counter rotating props with hubs that steer while the motors remain fixed. The motors were so compact, I couldn’t help but think they would be cool in exotics. They were hanging on boats that were capable of full autonomous operation, including collision avoidance.

I finally saw a robot in a completely practical application. It looked like a big trash can with a flat top that slowly cruised the isles of CES and people loaded their food trays on top, while disposing of their trash. When people moved away, it continued on its way back to home to be emptied and returned to the floor.