Picks from CES 2018
Gadget geeks, pay attention! What we thought was impossible even five years ago is now old hat. Looking at what was on show this year at Las Vegas’s CES, the top hub for the industry; the future is here, right now.
BEAT THOSE TRAFFIC BLUES
Just what we need to cut down on commuting time. Volocopter, an autonomous passenger drone, is essentially a flying car. The self-flying drone is said to be extremely simple to fly, quiet and when running on its batteries, emission free.
Chinese firm Smacircle has come up with what could be the world’s most compact and lightweight foldable eBike. Weighing in at around 6.8 kg, the bike can be folded into a small backpack and locked using your phone.
STAY CONNECT
The Casio G-Shock Rangeman smartwatch with built in GPS can harness the power of the sun to keep you going when you’re in the wilderness, miles from a plug socket. It looks rugged, and is definitely made for guys who love the great outdoors.
TECH THAT GOES TO YOUR HEAD
Vuzix Blade smart glasses don’t just look great. Vuzix has embedded a camera, microphone and side-mounted touchpad in this chunky but pretty normal-looking pair of sunglasses, which takes phone calls and puts Alexa’s giant brain between your ears.
A new Samsung C-Lab project called S-Ray lets you to listen to your devices without disturbing others by beaming sound straight into your ears. The company says the technology could be used with a number of different devices including a Bluetooth speaker, a phone cover and a personal neckband.
Harley riders, meet Skully Technologies Fenix AR, a helmet with a rear-view camera that displays a 180-degree view on a transparent display. It supports turn-by-turn navigation and (when connected to a phone via Bluetooth) voice commands, making phone calls and playing music.
ON THE HOME FRONT
The prototype Aeolus robot can clean your house, pick up after you and keep an eye on things while you’re away. With Alexa inbuilt, you can also let it know when it is doing a good job.
Toto’s marble-covered bathtub has no shortage of integrated tech, but what makes it so special is its ability to simulate the feeling of floating in space. A series of integrated jets lift your feet off the floor of the tub and the surrounding LED lights send you straight to the stars.
Nanoleaf has unveiled a new square-shaped variation of its light panels. Now you can turn the panels on and off, dim them up and down, or change their color just by tapping on them. Yes, of course, there’s also a music sync microphone and motion sensor capable of lighting the panels up whenever you walk by.
Ubtech’s biped robot is your security guard with a difference. The Walker can handle your security needs, patrolling your home’s perimeter, detecting motion and recording incidents with its integrated camera. For entertainment value, it can dance and play games as well. Not as lovable as a pooch, though.
DON’T MISS A MOV (I)E
Why are people so impressed by the Razer Phone screen’s deep blacks? It was secretly designed to play Netflix in HDR. The phone will be the first phone to do so, and with Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Razer Phone is a Dolby-certified device with really powerful speakers. The Razer Phone will begin supporting Netflix in HDR after an over-the-air software update in the near future.
GIVE YOURSELF A MOOD BOOST
An EEG headset from Belgian research center Imec can assess your emotional state based on signals from the front of your brain. There are therapeutic applications, sure, but it also has the potential to improve your memory when you’re learning, match music to your mood or even adjust your emotions by changing your music.
Moodo’s Wi-Fi-connected, Alexa-supported scent machine that can make your home smell like an ashram spa, a floral garden, a forest trail or beach party.
