Clothes that track your every move, shoes that tighten themselves and a smart TV that keeps a watchful eye over your connected home. A mirror that analyses your body shape and allows you to try on clothes in virtual reality. A TV so thin that you could roll it up and put it in your bag as you await the arrival of your drone to transport you to work at the touch of a button.
These are just some of the things that have been demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week as the tech world provides a glimpse into the future – or its vision of it.
Although some of the products at this year’s CES may seem outlandish, many are part of a steady march towards connecting everything in our daily lives. Ostensibly, the aim is to make life easier for consumers by making technology work for them, rather than the other way around. And, of course, to make money for the firms involved into the bargain.
The idea that your fridge may be talking to your TV, or your phone can control your washing machine isn’t a new concept. Manufacturers have been edging towards the idea that everyday devices could perform better if they were online in some way for several years now. The Internet of Things is already a flourishing business and, as CES showed, it is set to get bigger. In the near future, you may be able to instruct your car to pick you up at the front door as you get ready for work, with your house shutting down its systems automatically as you leave.
Although the convenience of some of these developments may seem compelling to consumers, there are potential privacy and security implications. Connecting things to the internet can make them more vulnerable and, given the amount of data these devices could gather and the control they could exert over daily life, companies will have to ensure they are investing as much in keeping their products free from malicious interference as they are in persuading us that we actually want them. But there is no going back and, as Samsung’s WP Hong told attendees in his keynote address, the future is now.