The image that you see here is from a presentation from Compass Intelligence, and I really think that it partially summarizes CES. One of the reasons why I like going to this event is so I can see tomorrow’s futures today, and there really is a lot that I saw that demonstrates how much of a sci-fi world we live in today.

While I was in the Press Room on Sunday, I imagined that my younger self from 1984 leapt forward in time. I imagined that my past-self would be overwhelmed by the tech of personal computers and smartphones, but might be disappointed by the lack of flying cars. Still, there is so much out there to be impressed by, but much of it is being imitated.

You can see that almost half of all consumers are interested in buying a Smart Watch, Fitness Monitor, or Digital Glasses. These were devices that I kept seeing imitated. The worst was the Fitness monitor, as there was practically a large percentage of the showfloor dedicated to variations of essentially the same device.

I would have to say that CES 2014 didn’t really give me a revolutionary device. In 2010, I saw Parrot’s AR.Drone for the first time, and loved it. It reminded me why I came to CES every year. You may have noticed that the only thing at CES that I wrote about was the new versions of this product.

Clearly, we need more innovation in our technology, but it feels like we are stuck in a rut. I think I see that change comes, but it happens very slowly. One day, Facebook starts a college, and now everyone is on it. What is the next Facebook? What is the next Apple?

It feels like a lot can happen, but it just kind of isn’t. We really need innovators, not imitators.