Richard Lai
(Seen on the right at the 2013 Award Ceremony with employees of Kyocera Corporation, winner of the Mobile Technology category).

Out of the many consumer electronics shows I attend each year, CEATEC JAPAN always stands out as strong indicator of where the market — both locally and globally — is headed in the next few years. This is the show where I can truly appreciate innovative breakthrough technologies from complete products like robotic suits, self-driving electric cars and tiny laser projectors, all the way down to the component level involving liquid crystal lenses, the latest high-resolution display panels plus wireless switches that generate their own power. And of course, there’s nothing better than personally meeting the people who are directly involved in those projects.

Richard Lai (on the right) covering the CEATEC JAPAN venue.

Like the rest of the world, the wearable space is also growing at CEATEC JAPAN, so I hope to see more of such devices — especially those with healthcare features — to make an appearance at the show and eventually the local market, where the demand will be high given the aging population. This will also set a good study case for the rest of the world.

I find myself more and more impressed by what I see and what I learn from CEATEC each year, which is no wonder the show has gained a strong international reputation. I look forward to the many more years to come for my favorite technology expo!

Richard Lai has been covering consumer electronics news as a Senior Editor at US website Engadget for five years, and he is also the Editor-in-chief of Engadget Chinese. Naturally, Richard is obsessed with gadgets of all sorts and of all origins, which is why he doesn’t mind travelling to see the absolute latest technologies.