Connected devices to be major focus at CES 2017

The prestigious consumer electronics trade show, CES 2017 kicked off last night in Las Vegas. This year, the show celebrates its 50th anniversary.

"The products and services unveiled at CES 2017 will touch nearly every single global industry. From the latest in virtual reality, smart home, self-driving vehicles, robotics, wearables, health and fitness tech and more, CES 2017 is unveiling the future of the connected experience and what it means for consumers around the world," said Gary Shapiro, president and chief executive, CTA (Consumer Technology Association), in a statement.

More than 3,800 companies are launching innovative products at CES, including 600 startups. This is the first time that such a large number of startups are participating in the event. Going by the pre-shows and product announcements, the focus seems to be on connected, smarter living.

American technology company NVIDIA, for example, unveiled a new version of the Shield TV, which will support 4K HDR for both games and movies making it the world's first 4K HDR entertainment platform.

The company also announced an AI (artificial intelligence) car supercomputer called Xavier used in NVIDIA's own self-driving car BB8 and a new capability on the NVIDIA AI car computer called AI Co-Pilot. This feature provides drivers with road alerts and facial and voice recognition capability to improve drivers' experience.

Ahead of CES 2017, Samsung launched its new QLED TV series – Q9, Q8, and Q7 – bringing a new lineup that offers dramatically improved colour performance.

On Tuesday, two days before the start of the mega event, CES Unveiled showcased new gadgets ranging from virtual reality, companion sensing robots, wireless headphones, sleep trackers, smart lighting, wearables, etc.

Technology news website CRN featured 30 gadgets which were exhibited at CES Unveiled. Some of the noteworthy products included the following:

Sleep Number 360 SmartBed: A bed that can self-adjust throughout the night to match the sleeper's movements and patterns.

Bonjour Personal Morning Assistant: A smart alarm clock which can adjust wake-up times for certain conditions.

Hair Coach: This hairbrush features a microphone to identify patterns in brushing, as well as an accelerometer and gyroscope. This comes with a companion app which users look up to tell how often their hair is being brushed and whether it has been overbrushed.

Smarter's FridgeCam: The Fridge cam is placed in the refrigerator and detects what items are in stock and also their expiration date using a companion app while the user is at the grocery store.

CES 2017 will continue till January 8.