Cover photo provided by the Consumer Technology Association.

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CES 2026 Preview

Economic uncertainty hangs across much of the globe, but technology remains on the march. AI spending will continue to rise in 2026, with 68% of CEOs increasing investment, according to Teneo, the CEO advisory firm.

Next week’s CES show in Las Vegas (Jan. 6-9) will preview much of this investment, which includes robots, automated retail equipment, EV charging stations, food preparation equipment, biometric identification technology and more. The show will encompass exhibits and conferences at three main campuses: the Las Vegas Convention Center, The Venetian Campus and the C Space Campus (Aria).

From AI powered personalization to seamless omnichannel ecosystems and next generation social shopping, CES 2026 will bring together the retailers, brands, platforms and creators defining the new retail economy.

The conference portion of the show allows business leaders and pioneering thinkers to address the industry’s most relevant issues. The retail conference track will examine the evolution of discovery, experience and purchase, with sessions including:

Content to commerce: The world of social shopping
Experience driven retail
The future of “search” at retail with Justin Honaman, head of worldwide retail and consumer goods industry strategy and business development, AWS
The new retail experience in the AI powered store with Siobhan McFeeney, senior vice president of technology at Target.

Attendees will see AI engines customizing discovery, content linking to purchases, advanced store tech enhancing in-person experiences and data insights predicting consumer needs. Retailsystems.org will be on the show floor to cover a retail world built on deeper connection, intuitive design and more intentional shopping journeys.

Show highlights will include CES Innovation Awards 2026 honorees, recognizing outstanding design and engineering across technology products. The awards program reached new heights this year with a record number of product submissions with over 3,600 entries, awarding a total 319 honorees.

Attendees can explore select winning products in person at the CES Innovation Awards Showcase at the Venetian, booth #50043.

Following are innovation awards highlights.

LG Display

12-inch Under Display Camera-infrared OLED

The 12-inch UDC-IR OLED addresses regulations requiring the driver monitoring systems to alert drivers if they are not fully focused on driving, placing an IR camera behind the panel, thereby reducing concerns about privacy invasion. The pixel design is optimized to allow the IR camera to detect the driver’s status while providing the minimum required IR transmittance and high-quality images for DMS.

16-inch Dual View OLED for automobile

The LG 16-inch Dual View OLED transmits separate screens to the driver and passenger through a single display. Not only CID (center information display), It can also be applied to RSE (rear seat entertainment) and CDD (co-driver display), increasing its display applicability.

GoLe-Robotics

AA-2 Autonomous Delivery AI Robot

Designed for apartments and mixed-use complexes, the AA-2 is an autonomous delivery robot that balances privacy and convenience. It addresses challenges from the rapid growth of overnight delivery, including worker fatigue, safety risks and elevator congestion, while offering residents a seamless contactless experience. Through integration with the EV-1 elevator interface, AA-2 autonomously calls and rides elevators. It completes multi-drop deliveries to up to three households in a single trip, ensuring efficient, human-free last-mile logistics within residential buildings.

AEON

Hexagon humanoid robot

Built for industrial environments, AEON Hexagon can safely operate alongside workers and take on repetitive or hazardous tasks. Its design draws on psychological principles to gain workforce acceptance and be regarded as a collaborator rather than a machine. The robot combines agility, spatial intelligence and versatility to support applications such as manipulation, machine tending, asset inspection, digital reality capture, teleoperation and operator assistance.

Shenzhen AIRSMART Technology Co., Ltd.

AI Turning Keys portable desktop AI keyboard speaker

AI Turing Keys is a portable desktop AI keyboard speaker designed for emotional expression. Even beginners can play freely by combining “voiceprint recognition, emotion recognition” and a text-to-music AI model. It uses a camera and microphone to detect the user’s real-time emotions, generates personalized music and transforms it into dynamic on-screen sheet music paired with interactive key lighting. Through two-way tag matching between cloud content and user behavior, it delivers a 24-hour personalized audio livestream, offering a unique blend of real-time emotional expression and immersive musical interaction.

Shenzhen Maono Technology Co., Ltd.

AI voice changer gaming microphone

The DM40 wireless microphone delivers studio-grade vocal performance for gamers, streamers and creators. Its proprietary high-stability, low-latency bidirectional wireless system ensures audio transmission across PCs, consoles and mobile devices. The microphone features intelligent hardware controls, including a multifunction smart knob for gain/volume adjustment and touch-activated mute/noise reduction buttons. The AI-powered Maono Link software leverages large language models to enable hyper-realistic voice transformation and scene-specific tone presets, adapting the mic for gaming, live streaming or voice acting.

Doosan Robotics / Maple Advanced Robotics Inc.

Scan&Go AI-powered autonomous mobile robot

The Scan&Go AI-powered autonomous mobile robot supports large-scale manufacturing with instant, mobile automation, requiring no CAD, no-code programming. Using physics-informed AI and 3D vision, Scan&Go interprets complex geometries in real time, generating tool paths directly from point-cloud data. Traditional automation struggles with large composite structures due to irregular curves, cutouts and non-repetitive geometries, making CAD-based pre-programming and static setups impractical. Scan&Go overcomes these challenges through autonomous mobility, real-time path generation and functional safety, requiring no fixtures or manual input. Mounted on a self-driving forklift, it autonomously navigates, positions itself and operates across large areas.

AIPARK/Hanseo University

AiVATAR personalized AI avatar videos

The AiVATAR SaaS platform creates personalized AI avatar videos speaking 140 languages from text input. Users can generate their custom avatar with just one photo and 10 seconds of voice input. This eliminates time, location and language constraints in video production, enabling knowledge sharing without filming equipment. By democratizing multilingual, personalized video content creation, AiVATAR makes professional-quality videos accessible to all, offering efficiency and reach in disseminating individualized content across language barriers.

CHAEVI

Charging platform delivering ultra-fast EV charging

The CHAEVI MCS is a next-generation megawatt EV charging platform delivering up to 3.75MW ultra-fast charging for heavy-duty vehicles, while supporting passenger EVs with up to 400kW. Its modular, stackable MegaWatt Power Stack allows low-cost expansion, eliminating long queues caused by limited chargers. At long-haul rest stops, CHAEVI MCS uses AI-based smart sequential scheduling to recharge dozens of trucks during the mandatory 8-hour rest period. It features integrated AI diagnostics, liquid-cooled power modules and energy conversion.

Twohands Interactive Inc.

DIDIM Mini AR-based physical education platform

DIDIM Mini is an augmented reality based physical education platform for children ages 3–5 that combines move, think and play into interactive activities that build healthy habits while keeping learning fun. Kids run, jump and complete missions on an AR screen projected onto the floor, improving coordination, problem-solving and social skills through active play. Unlike passive screen time, DIDIM Mini creates immersive, hands-on learning. A high-precision LiDAR sensor detects movement in 0.06 seconds, ensuring instant feedback with no lag. Its portable, installation-free design with safe, curved edges fits easily into classrooms and daycares.

GhostPass

CityFlow seamless ID and payment experience

CityFlow removes the need for central server storage and enables secure, hands-free authentication for both identity verification and payment. Users complete authentication and payment through biometrics alone, without launching an app, tapping a device or presenting a card. Biometric data is stored only on the user’s smartphone through a decentralized structure and never transmitted externally. Encrypted, tiered data transmission ensures that only the minimum required information is shared per institution. If a device is lost, CI-value deletion permanently erases the original biometric data.

COSMAX

MaXpace automated device for personalized cosmetics at the point of experience

MaXpace enables beauty brands to instantly design and deliver personalized cosmetics at the point of experience, supporting skincare, foundation and lip products through modular cartridge boards that can be swapped easily, allowing multiple product types to be produced with a single platform. From precise ingredient dispensing and hygienic mixing to completion of the final product, MaXpace ensures consistent quality and reliability. The ShadeXense algorithm and a patent-pending formulation structure analyze each consumer’s skin data and preferences to generate an optimal, tailored formula in real time.

mobilio Co.,Ltd.

NavigateX autonomous robot platform for continuous 24/7 inspection

NavigateX is an autonomous robot platform for continuous 24/7 inspection. Equipped with a 360-degree camera and IoT sensors, it collects real-time spatial data to generate detailed digital twins of facilities such as factories and power plants. The system visualizes multi-level maps, supports anomaly detection and tagging, and integrates with existing facility alarms through a web-based interface. NavigateX enables remote inspection, predictive maintenance and automated safety monitoring.

Xbrew (shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd.

Nitrogen Coffee Machine

The Nitrogen Coffee Machine addresses the problem of frequent replacement of nitrogen cylinders and high consumables costs when using traditional equipment. The machine does not require the replacement of consumable gas cylinders. The machine can efficiently purify nitrogen from the air and accurately inject it into the coffee liquid, giving the drinks a dense, silky taste and rich foam, committed to the concept of sustainable environmental protection.

ANDOPEN

SNAPPASS on-device facial recognition offers encrypted, user-held tokens for passwordless multi-factor authentication

SNAPPASS by ANDOPEN integrates on-device facial recognition with encrypted, user-held tokens for passwordless multi-factor authentication, ensuring network isolation, data security compliance and immunity from credential leaks. SNAPPASS unifies access control for both physical and digital assets, streamlining IT and operational alignment while reducing support overhead. Its self-sovereign and zero-trust approach enables rapid deployment and compatibility across existing infrastructures, empowering organizations to scale authentication without user or network limits.

KioskIndustry.org will present its show coverage on this site.

Consumer Tech Coming to Public Unattended

CES 2026 paints a clear picture of where consumer technology is heading. Much of what’s being showcased for home use in 2026 will likely filter into public unattended spaces over the next few years. Let’s unpack likely “downstream” technologies that could show up in the public spaces by 2027–2029, based on those trends.

We asked one of our AI engines to speculate and here is theirt response.

1. AI-powered personalization in homes

CES highlights tools like AiVATAR (AI video avatars) and AI Turing Keys (emotion-recognizing interactive music). These point toward home devices that can adapt entertainment, communication and environment to one’s mood or schedule.

Speculation: We may see AI companions integrated into smart mirrors, TVs or kitchen displays that auto-adjust lighting, music or video content based on emotional state or tone of voice.
In unattended spaces: Expect similar emotional personalization in hotel lobbies, gyms or waiting areas — spaces that can “read the room” and adjust audiovisual ambiance automatically.

2. Biometric and decentralized ID systems

GhostPass CityFlow and SNAPPASS both suggest the rise of biometric, device-stored identities. These eliminate the need for cards or apps while maintaining privacy via local encryption.

Speculation: Homes could employ biometric home-entry systems that double as payment authorization — imagine paying for grocery deliveries just by confirming your face or voice.
Public unattended applications: Expect biometric kiosks, smart vending and EV chargers that authenticate users without logins or payment cards. See this interview with Frank Olea.

3. Robotic delivery and autonomous assistance in residential areas

The AA-2 autonomous delivery robot is an early signal of automated last-mile logistics becoming common in denser living environments.

Speculation: Expect apartment complexes and suburban neighborhoods to adopt resident-integrated delivery corridors where small robots or drones deposit secured packages directly into smart lockers or kitchen drop-in ports.
Public unattended use: Think community-based robot hubs for coffee, meals or parcel exchange — autonomously coordinated using building’s IoT and AI-powered elevator systems.

4. AI-driven appliances and creation devices

Products like the Nitrogen Coffee Machine and MaXpace personalized cosmetics station show companies bringing industrial-grade automation and customization into personal devices.

Speculation: The home kitchen will evolve toward ingredient-based fabrication systems — devices that mix, bake or brew to order for dietary goals. The bathroom might feature auto-formulated skincare or fragrance units similar to MaXpace.
Unattended settings: Smart cafés and “micro-labs” inside offices or co-living spaces could use these systems for on-demand, personalized consumption experiences.

5. Attention-aware displays and mixed reality learning

LG’s under-display camera IR OLED and DIDIM Mini AR system reveal how sensors and displays merge for interaction and attention awareness.

Speculation: We’ll see AR projection learning systems for home fitness and early education — lightweight, foldable, portable and safe for kids or adults.
Public unattended applications: Interactive play zones, hotel gyms, airport lounges and even public libraries could incorporate projection-based mixed-reality environments for exercise, training or entertainment.

6. Energy intelligence and ultra-fast charging at home

CHAEVI’s megawatt platform is mainly for fleet and industrial charging, but its modular design will likely scale down.

Speculation: Home-level versions could manage multiple EVs, solar storage, or home microgrids using AI scheduling to balance power loads — essentially “smart panels” that cooperate with city grids.

7. Human-centric autonomous robotics

The AEON Hexagon and Scan&Go robots highlight a larger push for robots that collaborate safely and adaptively without constant programming.

Speculation: Expect home-maintenance robots that autonomously map and monitor your house, doing inspections for leaks or hazards, integrating with digital twin dashboards for homeowners.

In summary, CES 2026 marks a convergence of AI intuition, identity security and physical autonomy that will reshape both private and unattended public spaces. The dividing line between “smart home” and “smart environment” is fading — imagine a future where your neighborhood café, postal kiosk and apartment lobby all share your AI identity and preferences but never your private data.

CES 2026 to highlight booming tech investment, announces record innovation awards