Another Consumer Electronics Show is in the bag. One of the biggest consumer electronics shows around the world featured some 3,900 electronic products spread over a 2.75 million sq. ft. making it the largest floor in the history of the show.
Our neck and brains have scrambled so far as we got stuck in the show floor with a myriad of fancy, new and interesting tech gadgets spread all around us. Before we cast off the show for good, let’s look at some of the best things that we laid our eyes upon.
Although this list may not be fair in terms of finding the best products displayed, we did try to figure out what will make 2018 sweet to look forward to. Here are a few of our favourites.
Sony Aibo
Things didn’t end too well for poor Aibo the last time around, but no one ever said love was easy. And besides, who are we to say “no” to those ridiculous puppy dog eyes? Granted, $1,600 (plus a monthly service fee) is a ridiculous sum of money to pay for a high tech toy — it sure is cuter than before. But Sony managed to win us over with the new Aibo during what was an otherwise lacklustre CES showing.
Aibo comes complete with flapping ears and its eyes, made of OLED light-emitting display, can show various emotions. Additional features include touch sensors on its head, chin and back so you can pet it. It also has a camera on its nose to help it recognize family members.
Lenovo Smart Display
It seems like we’ll be seeing quite a few gadgets equipped with Google Assistant-ready Smart Displays, and Lenovo was among the first companies to announce such a product. For now, Lenovo’s Smart Display stands at the top of the heap, with a nice design from a solid hardware maker. Equipped with Google Assistant, this device can answer a ton of your questions and also perform some tasks for you.
On top of everything, Lenovo had confirmed that the Lenovo Smart Display devices will be fuelled by the Qualcomm SDA 624 SoC which comes with an integrated CPU, GPU, and DSP, while it also provides both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Lishtot TestDrop
Consistent access to clean water is something billions lack, and part of that is the inability to check whether one’s water is clean or not. Lishtot could help change this with a tiny device that instantly determines if water is safe to drink just by analysing the electric field around it — no strips, no microfluidics, no toxic chemicals.
The Guitar pick-shaped device is capable of testing the quality of drinking water by examining the electric field around it. The whole technology is based on the electromagnetic fields that surround everything. Water creates its own local field, which is measured by moving the TestDrop through it, and it turns out that clean water emits a slightly different field than water with lead or chlorine in it, water with E. coli, water with dissolved animal matter and so on.
Omron Forpheus
None of the gadgets we saw were any match for the almost 10 feet tall Omron Forpheus. This Ping-Pong-playing robot from Japanese technology company Omron drew big crowds each time it was demoed on the showroom floor.
It is billed as a “table tennis tutor”, intended to keep a rally going and help its human partner improve. The technology seemed pretty good. The bot uses a combination of cameras and artificial intelligence software to track the Ping-Pong ball and determine how to hit it back, all within milliseconds. The ping pong playing robot has a built-in LED screen featuring encouraging messages, all the while giving you a run for your money at a round of table tennis.
Peak Design Everyday Backpack
Not a gadget exactly, but Peak Design’s Kickstarter triumph the Everyday Backpack which really piqued our travel rush over this year. Confident design is the best way to describe the backpack.
It’s smart and solid. The bag’s fabric is dense and feels incapable of being snagged or ripped yet it’s still soft enough to be pleasant to the touch. There’s one main pocket and several zippered sections around the bag including a laptop sleeve.
The main section is secured with a magnetic novel latch. The bag’s layout makes it perfect to carry cameras or drones or whatever, with the help of custom configuration of holders inside. At $300, it’s not cheap, but it looks great and is capable of holding even our ridiculous array of gadgetry.
Kohler Numi Intelligent Toilet
Numi intelligent toilet with KOHLER Konnect is Kohler’s most advanced toilet. The Numi offers personalised experiences that let users fine-tune every aspect of their experience to their exact preference, from ambient coloured lighting to wireless Bluetooth music sync capability to the heated seat and foot warmer.
Numi delivers hands-free control, personalised cleansing functionality and exceptional water efficiency. It can also be controlled through voice-command, the KOHLER Konnect app or the remote.
Wi-Charge
Imagine walking into CCD, picking out a favourite pastry and ordering a Frappuccino… while the whole time your phone is being charged.
No wires, no charging pads, not a single action required, just automatic wireless charging. Nope, this isn’t something out of Blade Runner, but a real thing. Wi-Charge, the wireless power startup, utilises infrared to enable full-room wireless charging.
Wi-Charge won the CES 2018 Best of Innovation Award and is the first company to receive FDA approval for long range wireless power, having passed the power, range and safety test.
At CES, Wi-Charge allowed people to step into the demo space and charge their phone wirelessly by only being in direct line of sight. Clearly, people (and judges) loved it.
Bullguard Dojo
Dojo is a Smart Home cyber security product that is powered by Bullguard, a company that produces next-generation anti-malware internet security.
Dojo offers an all-inclusive suite of software protection for connected devices within the home, keeping the data and privacy protected and, ultimately, the owners of the products aware of any incoming malware, viruses and cyber-attacks.
Through prevention, the protective software makes it possible for an unlimited amount of smart home devices to be connected without risk of being hacked.
The Dojo product, designed to look like a pebble, uses pattern recognition to learn to detect threats, securing homeowners privacy without spying on personal data and information.
At CES, Dojo demonstrated a live-hack that displayed how hackers get into private internet systems and connected devices and how it prevents this from happening to consumers and service-providers using Dojo.
Amimon
Amimon, creators of wireless HD video technology with zero latency, has developed an advanced video transmitting solution for VR, AR and mixed reality allowing users to experience the virtual world without physical restrictions.
Users take an actual immersive step and navigate into a VR experience freely, not having to stand in one place and not having a limited range of motion because of hanging wires.
With Amimon’s VR technology, users can have a real-time virtual experience beyond their physical reach and VR providers can utilize the technology to facilitate these unique experiences. The team’s demos at the Westgate Hotel in Vegas were very well-received.
Nomadic Audio
Tangled headphones and small, portable, low-quality speakers are an instant irritation. Nomadic Audio Speakase is a fully packed speaker with tone depth to successfully turn up any party.
It transforms the average carry-on suitcase into a fashionable, full scale Hi-Fi quality speaker. Speakase packs the power of large scale quality speakers into a water-resistant, lightweight, shock-absorbent suitcase, turning any terminal and hotel room into a VIP event.
The company says it is the first suitcase that combines a stand-alone speaker and functional carry-on luggage, packing rich quality sound and luxury travel, together. It went down extremely well at CES and certainly didn’t go quietly.
Capsulier
Where would CES be without coffee? So step forward Capsulier. It enables users to brew limited-time-only specialty coffee shop blends in the comfort of their own home at any time they want.
Once preferred and favourite ingredients are chosen, Capsulier makes the capsule under the pre-set specifications and standard of capsule output quality.
All steps are taken care of from grind size, grind speed, volume or pressure. In a matter of seconds, users can create their custom capsule blend in their own space and time. Sometimes, the simple ideas are the best, literally a case of smelling the coffee.
