Much of the technology world will descend this weekend on Las Vegas, bound for the annual spectacle of new gadgets known as the International CES.
As soon as the Northeast digs its way out of the snow, I will be on my way for hands-on coverage of this carnival of consumer devices.
Big companies such as Samsung and LG Electronics serve as tent poles for the event, which runs through next week, but startups are capturing more of the spotlight.
And some of them literally hope to make a lot of noise. Last June, New York’s MyBell, which created a super loud digital bell for bicycles, won a free slot to exhibit at the show’s Eureka Park zone.
The ever-growing Eureka Park is set aside just for startups and first appeared at the 2012 CES. A few other New York faces, FitBark, developer of a fitness measuring device worn by dogs, and MPOWERD, maker of an inflatable solar lamp, are also booked to exhibit at Eureka Park this year.
This year, Eureka Park will include a new section called the Indiegogo Zone, which will showcase companies developing innovations in hardware that have raised funds via the crowdfunding platform.
There will also be a space, Eureka Park: NEXT, for growth-stage startups. That will include the likes of Samba TV (previously known as Flingo) of San Francisco and Modular Robotics from Boulder, CO.
Though not specifically for startups, there will be themed exhibit spaces where growing innovators pop up. For example, New York’s Filip Technologies, a maker of a smartwatch-style device that lets parents track their kids, will be on display in the Wrist Revolution section. Qualcomm will also be there showing off its Toq smartwatch.
3-D printing will have its own space to feature such companies as MakerBot Industries from Brooklyn and its parent Stratasys. Formlabs of Somerville, MA and 3D Systems will also be exhibiting. (No word yet if those two have settled their litigation.)
Expect to read more about these companies and others—including glimpses of sexy new televisions and tablets—next week when I report from the field in Las Vegas.
