Scheduled to run Tuesday, Jan. 6 through Friday, Jan. 9, International CES is being held at a number of venues across Las Vegas. However, a large number of products were getting an early sneak preview during Monday’s day-long schedule of Press Day events.
Today’s events are being capped off by evening keynote addresses from Samsung Electronics President and CEO Boo-Keun Yoon and Daimler AG/Mercedes-Benz Chairman Dieter Zetsche. Yoon plans to discuss the many possibilities being created by the fast-evolving Internet of Things, while Zetsche is expected to talk about autonomous driving, meaning self-driving cars.
Information Protection Technologies
We reached out to Allison Fried, senior manager of international communications for the Consumer Electronics Association, to learn more about this year’s CES focus on privacy and security.
“We develop new marketplaces every year based on market trends and exhibitor need,” Fried said by e-mail. The new show floor areas for personal privacy and security will “highlight the latest innovative technologies aimed at protecting consumer information,” she said.
In all, more than 65 privacy- and security-focused exhibitors are expected to display their offerings during this year’s CES.
Among the “big-name exhibitors” in this area, Fried said, are Ength Degree, a San Diego-based of XY Beacon tracking tags to “keep track of everything that matters”; the wallet company LoopPay; the mobile security firm NXT-ID; Vysk Communications, which offers hardware- and software-based security for smartphones; Hypr Corp., which plans to launch its HYPR-3 three-factor authentication protocol for mobile payments later this year; and Silent Pocket, a California-based company that has developed radio frequency shielding technology for mobile devices.
IoT ‘Everywhere’
Sponsoring the new Cyber Security Marketplace at CES will be the Gold Identity Federation, which plans to make its public launch during the show. The federation — an alliance of industry, government and academic organizations — is being established by the International Academy of Science’s Cyber Security Research Center.
This year’s CES will also see the Internet of Things “everywhere,” Fried said. More than 900 exhibitors fall into that category, with some of the key companies including Bosch, Lowe’s, Konnect Labs, iDevices, Muzzley and Blinksight.
The Internet of Things, which encompasses networked devices ranging from smart thermostats to cellphone-controlled door locks and ultra-small micro-electromechanical systems, is expected to generate $300 billion in product and service revenues by 2020, Fried said. The number of IoT devices likely to be deployed by then will reach around 26 billion units, she added.