What the Tech: The wild and weird tech from the CES
BY JAMEY TUCKER, Consumer Technology Reporter
CES is where the future of technology is unveiled. Sometimes it’s brilliant. Sometimes it makes
you tilt your head and say, “Really?”
This year’s show in Las Vegas delivered plenty of both.
One of the more talked about gadgets was Glyde, a home haircut system that promises the
perfect fade. You choose your hairstyle in an app, put on a connected headband, and use a
clipper that guides you along. The idea is simple. Just follow the device and push out. The
results? Let’s just say your barber probably isn’t panicking yet.
Then there was the Lollipop Star. Yes, it’s a real lollipop that lets you listen to music while you
eat it. You plug earbuds into the stick, and sound travels through your jaw using bone
conduction. Shockingly, you really can hear music. Once the candy is gone though, so is the
tech. Disposable audio is… a choice.
Robots were everywhere, including one designed to load laundry into a washing machine. It
works, but slowly enough that you might finish folding last week’s clothes before it’s done.
Other robots were far more impressive. At the Hyundai booth, automatic parking robots grabbed
cars by the tires and slid them perfectly into tight spaces. It’s the kind of tech that makes you
rethink crowded parking garages.
There were also some genuinely useful ideas. A “safety straw” designed to detect drink spiking
can alert users if a chemical reaction indicates a drug has been dropped into their drink. A small
device with a very big purpose.
Health tech showed up in unusual ways too. One gadget monitors urine to flag potential issues
like kidney stones. Another steams clothes on a rack so you can get a wrinkle free outfit without
dragging out the iron.
And yes, there was even a red light therapy hat promising to help men regrow hair. Bold claims
are practically a CES tradition.
A lot of what we see at CES will never make it to store shelves. But every now and then,
something strange, clever, or unexpected turns into the next big thing. We just won’t know which
ones for months, or even years.
