CES 2015: The Future’s So Bright We Gotta Wear VR Goggles

CES 2015 officially wrapped up this week. Countless exciting ideas combined with just as many duds to made for yet another interesting show. Let’s not focus on the negatives though. Let’s take a look at some of the more exciting announcements coming out of CES 2015.

Oculus Rift

Okay, this one isn’t new, having made an initial splash after Facebook purchased the company for $2.3 billion last year. The virtual reality device has been snickered at in the past, drawing joking comparisons to the device found in the 1992 film The Lawnmower Man. However, the company made a huge splash at CES this year, proving to be one of the more popular exhibitors. Business Insider reported on the company’s massive, two-story exhibition gallery that housed prototypes and hands on demonstrations. The Oculus booth reportedly had lines wrapping around it at all times during the show.

Excitement continues to grow among gamers for the virtual reality possibilities presented by the Rift. Now we just sit and wait for Pierce Brosnan to get ahold of a working model so he can begin experiments on his lawn care specialist.

Self Driving Cars

Another technology that has been around for a while. Yet, this year, several automakers made big splashes by providing working prototypes in place of the promises of years past.

According to CNET, Audi’s A7 actually drove itself from San Francisco to the show in Las Vegas. Hyundai and Volkswagen also demonstrated how their cars could park themselves.

It seems only a matter of time before we can just jump in the car, bark out a destination, and pray you don’t have to call tech support along the way.

The Impending Death of Cable TV

Okay, so maybe cable TV isn’t actually in danger of going anywhere anytime soon. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t dealt a harsh blow at CES 2015. Dish Network took a major leap ahead of their competition in announcing Sling TV. The monthly pay service will provide customers streaming access to networks such as ESPN, CNN, Food Network, and more for $19.99 a month. Engaget even named Sling TV the CES winner for 2015.

Combined with the rise in set top and stick variety streamers such as Amazon’s FireTV, Apple TV, Roki, and others, consumers have even fewer barriers to cutting the cable.

There were many other exciting announcements at CES 2015, but if these three trends continue, our lives could look significantly different in the coming years.

[Photo courtesy of Business Insider]