Major CES gadget present turns to tech for virtual salvation

The Consumer Electronics Display known for crowds, sensory-overload, and deal-making is counting on technology it has longer hawked to put pizzazz into its first virtual event, kicking off Monday.

The deadly pandemic which has derailed in-person conferences all over the world in the past year forced the buyer Technology Association to check out suit with an online version of the annual gathering in NEVADA.

"CES is probably the most experiential incidents on the planet, where attendees can in fact see and touch and go through the latest improvements," CTA spokeswoman Jean Foster said throughout a briefing ahead of the show. "And while we can't recreate that magic that occurs in Las Vegas, we are able to get our audiences a new and unique complete digital experience."

Show organizers caused Microsoft to build a great online platform, and help exhibitors craft video presentations, digital press products, and chat community forums for engaging with attendees.

"We really designed around the idea of people being able to interact with one another," Foster explained, noting that Microsoft Teams video-conferencing program was a strong component of the platform.

The digital version of CES is a "true broadcast experience," the centerpiece that will be an online "anchor desk" staffed by social media and tech news veterans.

The anchor desk will stream interviews, announcements, analysis, and keynote presentations, along with recap daily events and preview what is in advance, according to Foster.

More than 100 hours of CES programming is planned, with various presentations captioned in more than a dozen languages.

Digital CES is relying on artificial intelligence to complement interests indicated on attendee profiles with exhibitors, hoping to place a software spin in the serendipity of stumbling after cool products about show-floors.

Software will recommend persons or exhibitors to hook up with, and provide tools for online meetings or perhaps chats.

A media day typically filled with press conferences in NEVADA ballrooms will become replaced with streamed video tutorial presentations from firms, the list of which includes Hisense, LG, Samsung and Sony.

Freed from the Las Vegas period zone, CES press conferences will start early-morning New York period and continue in to the evening.

Presentations from keynotes to press conferences might be shorter that they have been in real-life CES occurrences to account for limited interest spans and allow time for fielding problems.

CES has more than 300 audio speakers lined up, and a heightened concentrate on periods diving into concerns such as privacy and 5G internet.

Sessions will end up being immediately designed for replay on demand, and remain accessible until mid-February, according to CES organizers.

When the virtual show floor opens about Tuesday, attendees should be able to mouse click into online exhibition booths for demos and chats.

"A lot of firms are putting a lot of strength into creating an excellent online encounter," Accenture global software and platform innovator Robin Murdoch told AFP. "One thing we've learned can be that we're all willing to try new factors digitally."

Building the digital platform was a major investment "in the seven figures," according to CTA president Gary Shapiro.

Off-the-shelf solutions didn't encounter CES necessities when it came "serendipity, discovery, connecting and the happiness of learning," Shapiro said during the briefing.

"We can not recreate, obviously, some of the stuff in Las Vegas like the gambling and the ambiance and the face-to-face human being five-sense contact," he said.

Organizers shunned the thought of attendee avatars wandering around a good virtual CES world.

Regardless of the investment, Shapiro predicted the digital CES to become a learning experience, lessons from which would be used to enhance a "hybrid" event next year with a physical gathering in Las Vegas.

"We love technology and what it's doing," Shapiro said. "But, it's actually different then being their face-to-face."