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CES 2016 roundup: stress headbands, autonomous drones and smelly alarm clocks

Posted by Hannah Wright on 11th January 2016

 

CES 2016 took place last week, showcasing thousands of unique, quirky and frankly sometimes bizarre technology.

Out of this amazing haul we’ve handpicked the biggest themes of the show and listed some of our favourite tech to appear in 2016.

Virtual reality upped its game

  • HTC’s Vive Pre headset now has an added camera function to stop users from essentially falling flat on their face when submerged in their favourite game, allowing free movement around the home. Perfect if you fancy grabbing a drink in the middle of a game!
  • After a long wait, Oculus Rift finally launched its consumer version of the Rift headset that’s expected to sell in March for the fairly high price of £499. It’s been a long time coming but it’s set to make immersive game play even more attainable.

Keeping healthy

  • Samsung’s Body Compass 2.0 workout suit contains six different kinds of sensors to track your fitness levels, monitoring heart rate, respiration, body fat levels and more. If the word ‘suit’ makes you think shirt and tie, think again. The clothing resembles plain gym gear, so you won’t stand out from the crowd too much!
  • DietSensor won this year’s CES coveted innovation award and is capable of scanning your food to help measure your daily intake, making recommendations about what to eat throughout the day, based on your personal health profile.
  • If you’re susceptible to headaches the Halo headband from BioTrak Health has sensors to keep you updated with your stress levels. If you’re feeling uptight, the companion app informs you of different exercises to soothe your tension.

Diversifying drones

  • If you love playing games with drones then WowWee robotics’ new E.V. AIR and LUMI ranges are bound to excite you, with the AIR version allowing you to fly a quadcopter around a ‘battlefield’ while taking on an AI ground vehicle.
  • But if climbing into your drone is more appealing, Ehang Inc introduced its new electric-powered drone that’s capable of carrying one person at sea level. Although it does sound slightly terrifying!

Sustainable cars

  • Toyota’s FCV Plus concept vehicle looks to help the environment by using a built-in hydrogen tank, with the aim to achieve the company’s vision of a “connected, sustainable hydrogen society.” This could be our future although there’s no clear launch date just yet.
  • Volkswagen introduced its Budd-e concept, an advanced four-wheel-drive, electrically powered MPV. Set to launch in 2018, this cool new ride features the latest in lithium-ion battery technology and claims a zero-emissions range of up to 331 miles. If you can’t wait until 2018, GM’s Chevrolet Bolt – an all-electric compact – due to enter production within a year.

‘For-the-sake-of-it’ technology

With the vibrating smart fork dominating CES 2015 there was, as usual, an abundance of tech that had the ‘we’ve done this because it’s funny / cool / we can’ but had no real purpose to it. I personally love these kinds of silly gadgets but you have got to question whether you would ever need to be woken up by a smell rather than a sound…

  • Encouraging our inner sloth, the Laundroid is a peculiar robot that folds your clothes. At the moment it takes Laundroid about five minutes to fold a single item and each item of clothing has to be loaded individually. Think I’ll just do it myself…
  • The Sensorwake alarm clock wakes you up with a choice of 6 different scents, one including “Lush Jungle”. I’m not quite sure what that would consist of but I think it’s safe to say you wouldn’t stick an automatic air freshener next to your pillow. Which is what this basically is.

Image credit: ETC-USC

Hannah Wright

After joining in 2011, Hannah brings a wealth of experience across both consumer and B2B PR.