What’s Hot And What’s Not At CES 2018

It’s that time of year again, where my feet are sore from walking too much and I’m not entirely sure what I saw.  Yup, that’s CES, the Consumer Electronics Show.  The first day included 12.5 miles of walking.

The 2018 version certainly had prevailing themes.  Like robots.  And sleep tech.  And concept cars.  Even if what you had wasn’t a robot, it still seemed like a good idea to call it a robot.  You know, like a laundry folding robot.  No, not like Rosie from the Jetsons (if you’re under 30 years old, look it up).  Anyway, you’ll see.  This is my annual list of what’s hot and what’s not at CES.  I won’t put everything in either of those buckets.  You need to decide for yourself.

One last note.  I ended up assembling a lot more than I thought for this post.  I’ve split it up into two sections since it’s taken quite a bit of time to assemble the pictures and videos.

What’s hot and what’s not?

There were a ton of items dedicated to pets at CES.  Figure out the mood of your pet, automate how they get in and out of the house.  Did I mention the mood thing?  I know people spend a lot of money on their pets, but it seems like this category continues to grow in ways I didn’t imagine.

How about Spartan radiation-blocking boxer shorts?  Definitely some colorful branding.  Only $35 a pair, though they’re cheaper if you buy them in a value pack!

This handheld scanner was pretty neat.  Maybe it’s only because I have a day job that involves lots of paper?  My co-worker felt the same way.  What can I say?  Sometimes it’s the simple tech that geeks me out.

How about the future of recycling in restaurants and retail, brought to you by….a robot?

Have you met Buddy?  He’s….wait for it…a robot.

Not into Buddy?  Then, these guys will definitely creep you out.  They creeped me out.

There was also the small (or big) robot that reads books to kids.  Is this supposed to fill the need for the parent that doesn’t have time to read their kids books when they go to bed?  Gee, I hope not.

Not into regular robots?  How about a laundry robot?  Meet Laundroid.

So, What Do You Do At An Electronics Show When There’s No Power?

Yeah, there was a power outage.  And, not a small one.  Or a short one.  If we weren’t near the exit doors in the back, I imagine it would have been quite a bit darker.

 

It’s CES.  So, There Were Concept Cars.  Lots Of Them

I’ll start with the ones that stood out and finish with some pictures.  Folks might be surprised to see me lead off with a car from Kia.

Why was the Nexo so compelling to me?  Anyone can make a concept car look great at a show.  But, it was the pitch that got me.  As they explain it, the Nexo can take a 15-minute charge to extend it’s range roughly 110 miles.  That’s more like a traditional “fuel stop” for a gasoline engine.  Still not all the way there.  But, if this is a reality, electric cars become much more useful for longer distances.

On the other end of the spectrum for me was the $35,000 (base model) car with 3 wheels and no roof.  Don’t worry.  I’m sure you can jack the price up with options.

Here’s the rest of what I saw.  It’s less than half of the concept cars on display, but a good variety of what’s “cool and new”.

And, it sure wouldn’t be CES without really.  Expensive.  TVs.

Stay Tuned For Part 2

There’s some pretty whacky and incredible stuff still to come.  Stay tuned for helicopters, robots, sleep tech, travel and some of my favorite things.  I just need to find a few more hours in the day.  Maybe I’ll just sleep less….

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