CES is around the corner. And, as things stand, the 2022 edition of the massive consumer electronics trade show is to be an in-person event once more.

It takes place in Las Vegas from 5 to 8 January with press conferences and keynotes starting the day before, and while there are obvious caveats due to the pandemic, it's relatively business as normal.

But, what does that mean? What are the trends to expect at this year's show? And, what will the mood be like for the thousands of attendees this year?

We spoke to the president of CES organiser, the Consumer Technology Association, Gary Shapiro to find out. As our guest on episode 132 of the Pocket-lint Podcast, he waxed lyrical about the forthcoming show and gave us an insight as to the biggest innovations that should appear.

"I expect it to be a wonderful and joyful event as we return to Las Vegas and get everyone together who has not gotten together in the last two years," he said. "We have groups from all over the world, we have major brands, and we have new categories, including food tech, space tech and NFTs."

However, one the biggest trends at this year's will focus on cars and electric transportation: "It's our largest automotive category ever at CES. We're seeing self driving vehicles, we're seeing the rapid shift to electric, and we're seeing first time car manufacturers from around the world, including one from Vietnam.

"Companies are showcasing new types of cars, their futuristic cars, there's all sorts of things."

It fits with the overarching theme of this year's show: innovation. That and a greener future.

"Part of innovation is making sure you not only have innovation, but that it is green. We see a lot of that at CES, the focus on green innovation and what companies are doing. I mean, one of the big discussion items at CES is gonna be the shift to the electric car to get away from these these cars that are based on fossil fuel usage," explained Shapiro.

And what of the rest of the show now and in the future, what else should we expect to see either as a visitor or an online observer?

"What's exciting for a lot of people about CES is discovery of new uses of technology, which are out there and can make a fundamental difference," he added.

"I don't think in my lifetime, we'll get to the Star Trek version of teleportation and things lthat someone like me who flies a lot would like to have. But, I do think what we're seeing, whether it's food technology, or transportation, or education, or clean water, clean health, lower uses of energy, I do think we see so many solutions there. That's why we we have the show."

You can listen to the entire interview with CTA president Gary Shapiro on the Pocket-lint Podcast episode 132 available now.