SELF-driving cars and drones that can carry a human were among the innovations that impressed a Bournemouth businessman at the world’s biggest consumer electronics show.

Giles Vincent was among more than 175,000 industry professionals at CES 2017 in Las Vegas.

Mr Vincent, creative director with Poole based ‘innovation consultancy’ Think Create Do, was struck by the scale of the event, which had more than 3,800 exhibitors spread over 2.6million net square feet.

He said: “The main highlight was the automation of cars. There were some really big launches from Audi and Nnvidia. They were there showing off their latest technology in self-driving cars and voice recognition. You can say ‘Take me home’ when you step into the car.

“They had big road circuits built so you could experience sitting in a car, which I did.”

He said drones were “everywhere” at CES 2017, including one that could seat a person and fly 12ft above the ground.

Other attractions included a ‘immersive’ stationary bike from Peloton. The rider can join one of 12 daily live classes or take one of 4,000 on-demand rides.

LG demonstrated a television the thickness of a credit card – its OLED W-Series Wallpaper TV.

Mr Vincent said of CES: “Depending on where you are in the industry, it could be very useful.

“It’s great fun as a consumer. We all love gadgets and technology and getting to see things that are going to arrive in five or six years’ time is great.”

There had been criticism that the government was not doing enough to help British start-ups attend the event – and Mr Vincent said there were plenty of Americans keen to see UK innovations.

“If you can imagine someone in Bournemouth who had the opportunity to go and was at the stage of producing a prototype, there’s a good chance you’re going to have a lot of the industry flocking around it,” he said.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, said: “CES 2017 shifted to a new level as large and small companies from around the globe gathered to reveal solutions for many of our world’s most challenging problems.“Our industry is bettering the world through connectivity and innovation, touching literally every facet of our lives. Today’s connected world was on full display at CES 2017 – our largest, boldest show in history.”