Have you heard of CES? What does Las Vegas look like to you?
Do you think Las Vegas is a casino town? Actually, it's a lot more than that!
This time I would like to tell you about CES, which I recently visited!

Nice to meet you! I'm a designer at CIC. My name is Kazuma Suzuki!
In addition to spatial design, I am a designer who also works on production design, such as stage direction, using interactive devices, video, sound, lighting, fog and other special effects.

So, do you know what CES is?
It's a B2B exhibition, so I'm vaguely familiar with the name,
I'm sure there are some people who don't really understand.
Don't worry, I'll explain it briefly.

CES stands for "Consumer Electronics Show."
This is one of the world's largest IT and consumer electronics trade fairs, held annually in Las Vegas, USA, a city famous for its casinos.
However, the variety of exhibitors is so rich that it makes you wonder if it's really a "home appliance exhibition" now.
There are cars, self-driving vehicles and systems that support self-driving, automatic vacuum cleaners, humanoid robots, XR devices, gaming equipment, makeup support equipment, and even attraction balloons...etc!
Just how far is CES?! That was the first thing I thought during CES.
This is no surprise, as the scale is different from Japan. The exhibition scale is over 230,000 square meters, and a wide variety of companies exhibit within it! If we compare the number of exhibiting corporate organizations at CES with famous Japanese exhibitions, the famous Japanese exhibition Japan Mobility Show (formerly known as the Motor Show) has about 475 corporate organizations, the Game Show has about 985 corporate organizations, and CES has about 4,500 corporate organizations! (Based on Suzuki's research and calculations)
It was so big that I walked around the entire area for three days straight, and there was so much to see! (CES is amazing!)

Suzuki's selection of surprising exhibit designs and technologies that gave a glimpse into the future will be introduced here! And there's more to Las Vegas than just CES!
Yes, Las Vegas is now a hot city where shows and entertainment are on par with casinos!
Finally, I would like to touch on the show and entertainment facilities.

　

　

Eye-catching exhibition design

LG Booth

This year, transparent displays were a popular display technique throughout CES.
As expected, LG, which has transparent OLED displays as a product, was outstanding in its symbolic presentation of its new products, which drew attention. Below is a photo of LG's symbol taken by Suzuki.

Photo by Kazuma Suzuki

The transparency, vividness, and size of the transparent OLED display were astonishing, but the motorized movement of the display also accentuated this. The visual and lighting effects matched the motor's movements, creating a symbolic effect that caught the eye of visitors.

　

SK Booth

The exhibition booth was filled with LED displays more than any other space! It almost made you wonder if there were any walls other than the LED displays!
Even in places where there is almost no movement, LED vision is used, but considering the cost, printing would be fine!? It is a normal presentation throughout the space that makes you think, "No, it's only possible because of the extreme design!" And then there is the symbolic presentation that captivates people with its intense showtime.
When I opened the lid, I found out that the LED display was not a commercial product. It was an exhibition booth that placed emphasis on branding.

Photo by Kazuma Suzuki

What particularly caught my eye about the two company booths above was that they had in common:
What was great about it was that they not only promoted the products, but also provided a "stage" to highlight the branding.
One eye-catching booth at CES welcomed visitors with a performance that left a lasting impression on them.

　

　

Technology that makes you feel the future

While all the exhibits were showcasing cool visions of the future, the one that really gave us a sense of the excitement and momentum of the market was,
Yes, "autonomous driving"! As AI technology becomes more common, autonomous driving technology is becoming more and more integrated and realistic, showing us the future.
While Sony Honda Mobility, a well-known Japanese company, is developing vehicles that are close to self-driving, such as the AFEELA, Volkswagen is also active in self-driving! Mobileye, which is collaborating with Volkswagen on the self-driving system, exhibited their technology that supports self-driving, which does not rely on a single camera in one vehicle, but instead uses cameras around town to connect to a camera network. By connecting various cameras to a network, it is not a dream to reduce the number of cameras per vehicle. In other words, it also leads to cost reduction per vehicle! ?

Photo by Kazuma Suzuki

At this point, lazy Suzuki, who was thinking, "I wish my house could run on its own," was confronted by an autonomous camper van exhibited by AC FUTURE.
When the train stops, the interior is transformed. (You can live in it now.)

Photo by Kazuma Suzuki

The future of autonomous driving is one in which everything is connected and expanding.
The next thing we were curious about was the autonomous driving-related technology, which got us thinking deeply, "Who will be responsible for the interior of such a camper? Speaking of the interior, I wonder if our company can be involved?"

　

　

Not just CES? Las Vegas Shows & Entertainment Facilities

Las Vegas is a city of casinos!? That's so old-fashioned! Las Vegas is also a city of shows.
After all, the guidebook also said that the show was HOT! (It was my first time in Las Vegas, so I read the guidebook thoroughly.)
Suzuki is a huge fan of stage directing and devours shows every night!

...or so I thought, but it seems the time has come.
That's all for this time!
For more on this, please contact Kazuma Suzuki of Nomura Co., Ltd. CIC!
We can talk about CES & Las Vegas, anything else, or just chat!
Let's talk! (I love talking!)

　

　

Data reference:
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC2349E0T21C24A2000000/
https://www.netdenjd.com/articles/-/291491
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC252C30V20C24A9000000/