Sci Fi to Reality – 5 Takeaways from CES 2025

If you were looking to fill your basket with some of the world’s most exciting consumer products, last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas was the place to do it. But we weren’t there for gadgets — we were seeking out 'art of the possible' technologies now emerging as real-world, consumer experience disruptors.

At Journey, we unite world-class strategists, designers, and technologists to deliver Multidimensional Experience Design (MDX). Below are our key takeaways from CES 2025 and how they’ll impact audience experiences in the near future.

1. Rollable, Foldable, Bendable, and Beyond

Clear, bendable, and rollable screens, along with holographic displays, disruptive projection technologies, and interactive haptic feedback interfaces, are no longer futuristic concepts – they’re readily available products for 2025. On display were LG’s transparent screens, Samsung’s flexible screens, and Portalgraph’s holographic projection technology — not to mention an updated interactive short-throw projector, a fully immersive room of screens, and more. These interfaces promise to revolutionize how rich, interactive media is presented and experienced.

2. Lights, Camera, AI-ction

In GenAI, new virtual production and narrative tools are enabling world-building that wasn’t possible even a year ago. Take “Studio Extreme,” a turnkey virtual production studio by Disguise, Nikon, and MRMC that could revolutionize the creation of media content. Or take StudioBot, MRMC’s robotic camera arm that helps broadcasters optimize productions and establish virtual reality workflows. From StarAI, which instantly upscales vintage video, to Microsoft’s text-to-3D tool Trellis, these technologies are opening up an avalanche of new environments for virtual storytelling.

3. The Human Touch 2.0

CES 2025 had a strong emphasis on customer experience, with companies like Walmart and Delta showcasing their CX innovations. As technologies automate some of the tedious tasks and friction points of customer experience, expect more effort and resources to be allocated for better experience design. Cutting-edge technologies will enhance everyday experiences by offering things like interactive wayfinding in hospitals and entertainment venues or personalized shopping experiences in retail stores.

4. Call My (AI) Agent

“AI Everywhere” has been the prevailing theme of CES for the past three years, but CES 2025 brought this vision closer to reality by showcasing an agentic future. AI agents are now capable of managing mundane tasks from planning and ticketing to wayfinding and real-time experience management, promising a new level of personalization for audiences. Samsung’s Vision AI is a prime example, with features like Click to Search, which retrieves information with a single click while watching content, and Live Translate, which converts foreign-language content into subtitles in the user’s preferred language. Another is LG’s Affectionate Intelligence, which personalizes homes to enrich people’s daily routines with things like custom ambient content to fit users’ moods and wellness insights based on sleep patterns.

5. I Welcome Our Robot Overlords

CES 2025 showcased a significant leap forward in both hardware and software for robotics. Beyond the obvious first-thought applications like Rosie from The Jetsons, advanced robotics could have a significant impact on responsive environments, wayfinding, assistive experience, and back-of-house operations. That’s not to mention the direct impact on entertainment venues, where robotics performances will start to gain traction. Unitree Robotics presented their G1 humanoid robot, featuring dozens of joint motors and remarkable flexibility and adaptability, and Nvidia announced their Mega Omniverse robotics framework for building entire robot fleets.

As the dust settles from CES 2025, it’s clear that we’re entering a new era of consumer experience. These technologies represent fundamental shifts in how brands can connect with their audiences — and they’ll enable us at Journey to create more immersive, responsive, and personalized multidimensional experiences than ever before.