Feature: Vegas electronics show hightlights IoT, driverless cars and digital health products

The Internet of Things (IoT), driverless cars and digital health products steal the show at this year's international consumer electronics exhibition in Las Vegas.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016, IoT is everywhere. Just about everything that can be connected will be connected.

"Just a few short years ago, most objects served one basic function -- cars transported passengers, refrigerators kept food cold and our watches told time. Today, through the Internet of Things, these objects and millions more have taken on new roles, bringing everything together in our connected world," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the host of CES.

"Much like our younger generations who have never known life without the Internet, the next generation will have no concept of a world before Internet of Things," he added.

Smart home is a vivid adhibition. Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner discussed the German company's smart home system, which controls all the connected devices, such as smart thermostats, door and window, in a home via one platform.

Lighting, heating, smoke alarms, doors -- almost everything can communicate with everything else. When the occupant leaves the house and closes the front door, the system automatically switches off the lights and turns down the heat, said Denner.

Driverless cars also drive into the spotlight of this year's CES. With nine out of the world's top 10 automakers exhibiting in more than 18,500 square meters of CES 2016, CTA chief economist Shawn DuBravac predicted that the fully autonomous vehicles will come out by 2020.

He said 1 million units are expected to be sold by 2030, adding that by 2045, half of all cars sold may be fully autonomous.

Top automakers and other more than 115 automotive tech companies show the audience what's to come with electric vehicles, collision avoidance, parking assistance and other car safety tech. The exhibit space this year is increasing 25 percent compared with CES 2015.

"Autonomous driving will surely play the biggest role. Not only will it make traffic run more smoothly and efficiently, it will first and foremost also be safer. I expect to see a successive reduction in the number of accidents through the use of ever better and more intelligent driver assistance systems," said Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess.

Diess unveiled Volkswagen's electric vehicle BUDD-e during a keynote speech on Tuesday. This electric minivan can achieve a range of more than 370 miles (about 590 km) if fully charged.

Digital health products are another eye-catching revolution. More than 150 exhibitors display innovative solutions for diagnosing, monitoring and treating illnesses, as well as advancements in healthcare delivery and smarter lifestyles. These have been 40 percent growth in CES exhibit space in the digital health and fitness sectors from 2014 to 2016, according to CTA.

Technologies on display include advancements in early onset disease detection, remote care for loved people, management of chronic conditions and health data linked to other devices.

According to a CTA report, one out of every 10 households owns a wearable fitness tracker, which has doubled since last year, and health and fitness devices in the United States see projected sales up 21 percent over last year to 20.3 million units.

Final revenue figures should hit 1.8 billion U.S. dollars for 2015, said the report. Endi