CES 2024 is in full swing in Las Vegas. We are on the ground giving you the most talked about news and announcements from the event, but much of the fun is in the weirder fringes of the show. In a CES era where companies are all-in on the AI hype machine, there are bound to be gadgets and claims that are a little outlandish, to say the least.
Here are the eight weirdest gadgets, tech and claims from CES 2024 so far.
AI powered bird binoculars
For poultry on an unlimited budget, Swarovski has revealed it AX Visio 10×32: a $4,799 pair of AI binoculars. The binoculars use artificial intelligence to help you quickly identify more than 9,000 birds and other species, and provide the ability to take photos and videos of your discoveries to share.
An app that lets you pay to pee
Image Credits: Rinse off
Want to go and want to pay? Web-based Flush application allows businesses to rent out their bathrooms to individuals for additional revenue. The weirdest thing about this app, other than its existence thanks to the lack of maintained and public restrooms in the US, is the rating system businesses use to approve or deny a reservation.
A BlackBerry-style keyboard for your iPhone
Image Credits: Click technology (opens in new window)
Do you miss the days of having a tactile keyboard on your iPhone? Revealed at CES 2024, Click on the Technology creator keyboard turns your phone into a relic of the BlackBerry era for $139. The keyboard works as a phone case attachment and gives you access to more of your iPhone’s screen without the digital keyboard. It’s sure to make your phone last a lot longer, but maybe that’s the price you pay for nostalgia.
Dynamic audio mixing based on your driving
Image Credits: Tim Stevens
Sound Drive, a startup from singer-songwriter-turned-entrepreneur Will.i.am, aims to match the music you listen to with the pace and energy of your ride. The technology reacts to your speed and matches that music, with lyrics coming in and out smartly whether you’re tearing down the freeway or stuck in traffic. While we were a little skeptical, we came away from the technology quite impressed.
A router that looks like a photo frame
Image Credits: GL.iNet
Matching your technology to your home’s aesthetic has been trendy in recent years. Is your TV too boring? Make it look like a gallery board with the Samsung Frame, or make it blend seamlessly into your home with LG’s newly unveiled transparent TV.
And the latest piece of tech to get the yaasification treatment is the humble router. The Marble Wi-Fi 6 OpenWrt Router by GL.iNet looks like a small piece of framed art that you can hang on your wall or prop up on your desk.
An AI assistant that calls 911 for you
At LG’s press event, the company announced the Smart Home AI Agent. The “two-legged” robot works as an assistant in sync with your LG devices. Generative AI lets you chat with Agent AI, and the company claims it can to show you empathy. In the company’s surreal, Pixar-like commercial, the bot can remind you to take your medicine or call 911 in a crisis.
A bidet that you can talk to
Image Credits: Kohler
Hello, Alexa? Turn on the bidet spray. Kohler introduced the PureWash E930 bidet seat with voice command support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. With voice assistance, you can control the seat hands-free, activate the spray and dryer functions of the bidet, as well as the UV self-cleaning feature. Just don’t let anyone watch you talk on the toilet.
A muzzle-like voice-absorbing mask
Image Credits: Haje Kamps (opens in new window) / TechCrunch (opens in new window)
Goodbye, noisy eavesdroppers. Skyted’s “Mobility Privacy Mask” and “Hybrid Silent Mask” are designed to “absorb voice frequencies” in noisy environments such as planes, trains and transit, so you can communicate with a little more privacy, according to founder Stéphane Hersen. The company aims to implement them Bane-like masks in offices, call centers and even gaming environments.
An artificial intelligence stroller that moves your baby for you
Image credits: GlüxKind
Parenting is hard. GlüxKind hopes that’s enough to convince you to put your child in the hands — er, wheels — of Cart with artificial intelligence, Ella. The stroller boasts the ability to push hands-free, automatically stop on hills and gently rock your child without you having to lift a finger. The cart also includes a built-in white noise machine function.
An uncanny valley to think with
One of the most notable “Who asked for this?” The products shown at CES are the GPT version of WeHead. The AI powered head brings a face and physicality to ChatGPT, rather than a purely virtual AI experience. The multi-screen mannequin-like layout aims to act as a confidant to bounce around ideas, though we’re more fixated on how weird it looks and how much it feels like interacting with anything.
A pocket AI assistant that scrolls your phone for you
Want to order a pizza? Instead of pulling out your phone, unlocking it, finding a delivery app, opening it, and going through the user interface to complete your order (so painful!), why not just ask rabbit r1 do it for you Instead of voice-activated AI assistants like Siri and Alexa, the device designed by Teenage Engineering runs on a “language action model,” which allows it to hypothetically perform the requested task.
Smart molluscs that can watch out for water pollution
From phones to TVs and even toilets, everything has to be ‘smart’ these days. What about molluscs? Inspired. MolluSCAN CEO and co-founder Ludovic Quinault found that a simple, non-invasive sensor attached to a clam or oyster shell can monitor everything from nutrition to reproduction to stress responses, which can be excellent predictors of quality of water and possible pollution.
