High-tech innovations debut as CES 2016 kicks off

LOS ANGELES -- The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 opened on Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, spanning the largest exhibit floor in the show's 49-year history featuring more than 20,000 new products.

Products exhibited at this year's show reflect trends including robotics, virtual reality, unmanned systems, automotive tech, wearables and beyond.

"The CES is the center stage for amazing innovations that will drive our industry to $287 billion in the United States sales this year," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association.

More than 3,600 exhibitors, including a record 500 startups, attended this year's show, covering about 222,967 square meters of the exhibition area, according to the organizer of the show Consumer Technology Association, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association.

"I'm like a kid in a candy store this week, surrounded by mind-blowing innovation that is truly improving the human experience," Shapiro said, "Our world is changing as technology connects us all and works to solve the impossible."

The CEO also hailed the CES as a showcase of how technology has been changing the world. "It is incredible we get to bring together so many industry visionaries, influencers and entrepreneurs this week at the CES to showcase how tech is changing the world," he said, "The energy in Las Vegas right now is palpable."

Intel kicked off Tuesday's keynotes with art and a concert followed by the company's CEO Brian Krzanich, who asked the audience to first pump the lit bracelet that were on each chair.

Krzanich announced a number of innovations that incorporate Intel's technologies. One innovative product is the Oakley Radar Pace smart eyewear, which features a real-time, voice-activated coaching system designed to improve and enhance athletes' training and performance. Another example is the Typhoon H Drone, which is powered by Intel's RealSense technology to avoid collisions in real time.

This year's CES, attracting more than 150,000 visitors worldwide, will be closed on Saturday. So far, the annual event has grown into the world's largest consumer electronics expo.