10 takeaways from CES 2022
By Carrie Yury — Group Design Director, and Global Head of Design Research, and Sundy Grubel, Managing Director, Design Experience Regional Lead, Fjord, part of Accenture Interactive.
This year’s CES gave us plenty to think about, as usual, and what really struck us was how much of what we were seeing tapped into some of the thoughts we posited in Fjord Trends 2022. In fact, we saw so many things that brought to mind “The end of abundance thinking?” that it left us wondering whether we should ditch the question mark.
Now that we’ve had a little while to let our thoughts percolate, our main takeaways from this year’s event include:
1. Stickers against social awkwardness
A genuinely brilliant initiative from the organizers this year was strategically placing stands inviting people to wear a sticker that indicates their level of comfort with physical interaction. Pandemic aside, these are a great idea, period.
Handing people this kind of control is an act of care that enables people to choose how others behave around them, without having to have the awkward “are we shaking hands?” conversation that so many of us have come to dread. This simple traffic light system gives people a way to be unapologetic about what they want from people. In other words, it’s a beautiful representation of how to deliver care as well as saying “Come as you are” to people and express if they are okay or not okay with a given situation. Definitely one to trial in offices as people begin to return.
2. Metaverse: new value for the fitness industry
In our trend “The next frontier”, we explained that “The metaverse is less about a fantasy world of unicorns and dragons — it’s an opportunity to escape and spend time in a virtual space that’s a version or extension of real life.” The evidence was everywhere at CES, with brands like Hydrow, LiteBoxer and Echelon (to name a few) presenting their take on how to use the metaverse as an extension of real life in relation to fitness. It seems the entire industry is finding ways to create new value for people through the metaverse.
3. New technology stepping into the breach
3D printing has been around for a good few years, but we mention it because it’s now poised to go from maker to mainstream. With disruption to supply chains being problematic around the world this past year, businesses have had to find new ways to get things done. One example we found particularly inspiring was Form Labs, which 3D-printed nasal swabs as needed, to enable Covid-19 testing when supply was short. It’s always heartening to see human ingenuity working for the greater good — a lovely product that taps into the “Handle with care” trend.
4. Full body VR
It was amazing to see some companies innovating ways to bring VR experiences to the whole body rather than just the eyes. We saw wearables that can take your whole body to the metaverse. Imagine entering the virtual volcanic city of Goron (that’s a Zelda reference, for those who aren’t into that kind of thing), and having your body feel real heat, or envisage feeling an adjustment from your yoga instructor through the metaverse. New, lightweight fabrics include haptics and can produce heat to create physical sensation in line with what’s happening in the virtual environment. It’s not something we mentioned in “The next frontier” but it’s certainly exciting.
5. Technology for the greater good
Solar Cow is a solar-powered battery system with multiple detachable portable charging batteries and flashlights. They’re given to children in Sub-Saharan Africa, so they can charge them while at school then take the full batteries home for the family to use overnight. The initiative supports access both to energy and to education, and sits neatly with the regenerative business narratives in “The end of abundance thinking?”.
6. Combatting misinformation
The US government is taking action to help prevent fake products and misinformation finding its way into the mainstream with StopFakes.gov. Counterfeiting and disinformation affect all aspects of daily life is a serious threat to our health and safety, and negatively impacts jobs and the economy, so seeing the government taking active steps is reassuring. This is 100% the kind of thing that’s necessary to combat the trust crisis we describe in “This much is true”.
7. Composting: the ultimate regenerative business?
We think Reencle is a brilliant initiative that will help people change their abundance thinking mindset so that they stop throwing away stuff that can be turned into something useful. It’s a handsome kitchen appliance that transforms food waste into compost. Nothing new, right? Wrong. Using eco-friendly microorganisms extracted from fermented soybean, it transforms discarded vegetable scraps into usable fertilizer in just a day or two. Given how many people are now growing their own vegetables, this puts a new slant on the term “circular economy”.
8. Invasion of the massage chairs
Seriously, there were loads of these at CES this year, capable of massaging your back, neck, legs, feet and hands, plus playing music, lifting you, reclining you and warming you up. And just imagine if such chairs became a sensory component of a metaverse experience in “The next frontier”.
The number and variety of these chairs at the event genuinely made us wonder whether every living room will have one by 2025, or whether every chair will be a massage chair… Let’s see.
9. Sustainable farming, 2022-style
Originally conceived as a contained, portable hemp farm, N.Thing’s shipping containers have been deployed to inhospitable environments like Dubai. Their next stop? Mars. Their innovative approach to sustainable farming gives us new ways to think about agriculture and creating raw materials in any climate or environment. An innovative way to grow locally and reduce the strain on supply chains.
10. The domestic robot we could come to love
Of COURSE there were robots at CES, but the one that grabbed us had both substance and style, and the best name ever. The Labrador Retriever is specifically designed to lighten the load for people living with pain or other limiting conditions. Around 26% of the US population lives with a disability, and it’s fantastic to see initiatives that aim to do better for them — we discuss accessibility issues like this in “Handle with care”. This good-looking robot’s job is to retrieve, fetch, carry and deliver objects to its owner. We told you it had the best name ever.
