Every January Greg Swan walks by hundreds of booths at the vast CES technology show in Las Vegas, but has yet to meet Rosey the Robot from the cartoon show “The Jetsons” or a real-life equivalent. He sees only simpler robot vacuums.

“When iRobot launched the very first Roomba in 2002, it brought to life this idea of Rosey at your house finally doing something you don’t want to do,” said Swan, a senior partner at the FINN Partners marketing firm in Minneapolis. “But it got stuck on stairs and wasn’t super great with navigation.”

Greg Swan of the Minneapolis-based FINN Partners marketing firm knows how to have fun at a tech show such as CES in Las Vegas in January.

Now, “here we are 20 years later, and the number of robot vacuums at CES is astounding,” said Swan, who has been attending CES since 2008. “There’s one that goes down stairs, and one with an arm that can pick up things in its way and put them where you designate. That’s 20 years of innovation — but we’re still a long way from Rosey cooking and cleaning and doing child care in my home.”

Swan wasn’t entirely sure why he first signed up for CES (now no longer known as the Consumer Electronics Show) and still wasn’t certain after that event had concluded.

“The thing about CES is that there’s not always a lot of actionable next steps,” he said. “You really have to absorb all of the things in order to suss out trends. It can be months or years later where you’re kind of like, oh yeah, I see a glimpse of what that could be.”

Swan has sniffed out those trends over the years by slipping on his tennis shoes and doggedly traversing the various halls where companies show off their products. He avoids keynote addresses and panel events, which are typically shared online. He doesn’t stop at every booth, but he sees every booth, and every booth has a chance to see him. In one CES day, he’ll walk about 12 miles.

Trend hunting

The scale of Swan’s enterprise is immense, and indispensable. “The trend hunting and report summaries I pull together help our FINN teams and clients understand the context behind the trends and what to do about them (or when to ignore them)!”

CES 2025 saw more than 141,000 attendees, up from 138,000 in 2024, according to the Consumer Technology Association. Over 4,500 exhibitors and 6,000 members of the media were in attendance across 2.5 million net square feet of floor space last week.

There were gadgets as far as the eye could see.

“CES is very much of a hardware show,” Swan said. “This is brutish technology. ‘Hi, here’s a new thing. What do you think?’ And a lot of the times, what we think is, ‘Why?’”

Smart rings that track health similar to a smartwatch are one example, he said. “The earliest smart rings were big and bulky, and they didn’t really do a lot. The battery life wasn’t good. It didn’t really track anything. You were thinking, ‘Why would I ever wear that?’”

“And this year, I probably saw six or seven different ring vendors, and I’m wearing a smart ring, the Oura,” Swan said. “So a lot of times, some of these initial launches, they’re almost introducing a category. And some of those early entrants have to prove the category in a way that others who follow later benefit from.”

Artificial intelligence

The big CES buzzword this year, as it was last year, was “AI” (short for artificial intelligence). Until now, that has often meant using tools such as Midjourney to outfit oneself in Roman regalia online for friends’ amusement.

Swan took particular delight in showing how the technology is increasingly integrating itself into everyday life and making itself indispensable. His favorite examples include WeWalk, a cane for the blind with obstacle detection, navigation and a voice assistant; and Samsung TVs that do real time translations and even provide text summaries.

Swan works mostly alone at CES, but he likes to set up “stranger dinners” with other attendees to compare notes. “I know that I’m better with more inputs,” he said. That’s how he heard about a robot eye doctor, a kiosk-style apparatus that can scan users’ eyes and give them their prescriptions.

“And I did it,” he said. “I could imagine a big box store that sells a lot of glasses putting in one of these kiosks. That’s realistic. I also think having someone next to it telling you how to use it defeats the purpose. And when I took my glasses off to use the machine, I couldn’t even see what the instructions said.”

Greg’s five CES 2025 themes

AI is everywhere: The term “AI” dominated CES this year, with innovations that are no longer just flashy demos but practical, usable tech. From AI-powered TVs and smart home devices to autonomous tractors and chatbots offering everything from workout plans to parenting tips, AI’s integration into everyday life is accelerating.

Smart glasses are (still) the next big thing: Smart glasses may finally be shedding their gimmicky image and becoming more functional, stylish and accessible. Major players like Meta, Apple and Baidu are racing to lead this category, with innovations in real-time translation, voice assistance and AR integration.

The outdoors is getting smarter: Nature and tech are colliding in fascinating ways, making the outdoors more connected and shareable. From solar-powered insect cameras to portable electric stoves, these innovations are enhancing how we engage with the natural world.

Accessibility and personal health are leading innovation: CES is showcasing how emerging technologies can unlock new levels of accessibility, insight and control of our personal health. From muscle-based interfaces to health-monitoring devices, these innovations are breaking barriers for people with disabilities, athletes and everyday folks.

Home robots are grounded: Despite sci-fi dreams of fully capable robot maids, most home robots remain grounded — literally. The focus is still on cleaning robots, but with new twists like obstacle navigation, spill detection and lawn bots with interchangeable heads for different tasks like mowing and snowblowing.

Greg seven key CES products

HYVE Smart Home Delivery Pod: An access-code enabled box for secure deliveries, designed to sit outside your door. Users can generate custom codes, and Amazon integration is on the way. Priced at $299, with a $10/month app subscription.

Kirin’s Salt Spoon: For those on a low-sodium diet, this spoon uses a very low voltage current to enhance the perception of saltiness in food without actually increasing sodium levels. It’s a clever and effective way to improve taste while adhering to dietary restrictions.

WeWalk Smart Cane 2: An AI-powered cane for the visually impaired, featuring enhanced obstacle detection, a voice assistant and integration with smartphones for navigation and public transit updates. This innovation showcases how emerging tech can genuinely improve lives.

Roborock Saros Z70: A robotic vacuum that not only vacuums and mops but also picks up objects in its path using a built-in mechanical arm. Users can even customize where the arm will place the objects it picks up.

Wonder’s Petal: Expect to see more insect content on social media this year. The Petal, from the makers of Bird Buddy, resembles a bright yellow flower but houses an HD camera powered by a solar panel. It captures photos and videos of birds and insects visiting your garden, making it easy to share nature moments online.

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Yarbo Ground Robots: Yarbo is expanding its lineup of ground robots with interchangeable heads for tasks like lawn mowing, snow blowing and spraying. Priced at $4,000 for the core unit and charger, with each head costing an additional $1,000, these robots offer a high-tech alternative to traditional yard work.

Meta’s Ray-Ban Stories: Leading the smart glasses category, these AI-powered glasses — developed in collaboration with EssilorLuxottica — have already sold over a million units. At $300 per pair, they offer real-time translation, hands-free video capture and voice assistance in a lightweight, stylish frame that looks like ordinary glasses. They sync effortlessly with smartphones, making them practical for daily use.