The Trends of CES 2016

It’s virtually impossible to attempt to cover every crazy little thing and gadget that happened and was showcased at CES 2016. Every single year seems to maintain a linear level of wacky, but that’s only because we always compare it to what we’ve seen last time. Last year we had weird, smart pacifiers and portable photo printers, this year we have wireless pregnancy tests and a completely wireless phone charger that is making me as excited as it’s making me uneasy. See what I mean?

The world moves forward and while we may be able to adapt to the changes at an amazing rhythm, the Consumer Electronics Show is still one of those places where we’re truly given reasons to marvel. And considering we live our days throughout the year having most of these things spoiled by nosy internet diggers and various types of leaks and rumors alike, that’s saying something for sure.

So CES 2016 has finally come to an end and there are some trends that we can define the year by. The most prominent of them all is the presence of car technology. This may not be new as geeks and automotive developers alike turn into excited kid-in-a-candy-shop-like creatures at the mere mention of beautifully lit autonomous cars that talk back to you in a pre-recorded voice of an attractive, British accented young lady. Or handsome young man, take your pick. 2016 is definitely a year where automobiles shined once again and showcased us where we should expect the industry to be in 5 years and 15 years from now, respectively.

Drones in all sizes and pocket gadgets were omnipresent too, whipping past the visitors’ ears in the never ending undertone of buzzing tech and the distinct smell of heavily polished devices. Full-fledged men looking awfully lost and confused from far away, making unexplainable hand motions, turned out to be lost in virtual reality as many of the showcased sets of headgear awed and gave way to a new age of gaming.

And because the market seems to always be able to handle a few more fitness trackers that come in a huge number of shapes and sizes, you could find a whole bunch of those too. And because you also need to store all that healthy food that the fitness trackers tell you to eat in order to lose weight, Samsung came up with a smart fridge that gives you a little piece of its computerized mind too.

And what kind of electronics show doesn’t have robots in it? Without an unfeasible amount of HD and Ultra HDTVs beaming colorful images and vibrancy that goes way ahead of how things look in real life? Not to mention that one that everyone agrees was an absolutely convincing proof that we are living in the future – the rollable LG display.

It’s hard to choose which of these gadgets and new-gen devices were the most outstanding. It would be simply unfair to have to take our pick of, say, 5 or 10. Because of that, we’ll leave it as an open, unlimited list of the many, many things that deserve a mention following the shows at CES 2016.

The Baffling Gadgets of CES 2016

1. CES 2016 – LG’s Dual-Sided OLED Video Wall and the Fabled Rollable Display

We’re adding them both here because they’re both products of LG and because they kind of resemble each other to some extent.

The dual-sided video wall is probably one of the craziest ideas for a TV anyone could have ever come up with. And frankly, I’m unsure to what length of applicability it could ever go to. While the design of it all is downright outstanding and really something you would expect to see in some Sci-Fi piece of work, I’m not sure who would consider this one a viable option for their homes.

And that is simply because I don’t exactly see why you would want to watch anything on this squiggly display that is bound to make things look a little strange. Same goes for the ability to watch anything on either side of the TV. Most likely, this will make it into a great advertising tool for brands and companies – I can totally see these gracing malls and shopping centers everywhere.

Then there’s the LG rollable display that made the technology headlines for about 3 days after it first made it into daylight. It is basically an 18 inch super thin, super flexible sheet of a display that shows ridiculously large amounts of potential for the development of mobile devices in the not-so-far future. Does this mean we should be expecting rolls o’ screen to be the kind of thing you take with you along your portable, wireless mouse and keyboard? Chances are that yes.

2. CES 2016 – The Batmobile. I mean the Faraday Future FFZero1 Concept.

This is pretty much as close as anyone can get to a real Batmobile. No kidding either, even the interior has a striking resemblance to the way it look in the 90s series of the Batman Animated Series. The vehicle is, naturally, only a concept and not fully functional (sadly), but it’s fully electric, can hit 60 mph in about 3 seconds and can go as fast at 200 mph. But it can’t shoot missiles or eject the driver through the roof with the use of parachutes. Yet.

In all seriousness, however, the company that produced it – Faraday Future – announced that they plan to start mass producing this car sometime this year.

3. CES 2016 – Nanoleaf Aurora

Maybe it’s not that awe-inducing as one would expect but it’s certainly the first of its kind and an amazingly great touch of futuristic to your home. The Nanoleaf Aurora that was showcased at CES 2016, despite only being a prototype, is a fully functional set of LED panels that have a very simple method of connecting to one another in order to allow you full freedom in the way you set them up on your wall.

The purpose is not much more than just a very creative way of lighting and decorating your home. Each panel can light up into a number of colors, allowing you to choose every single detail of what the final product is going to look like – whether you decide to control it through your phone or the clever looking hub. And the best thing about it is that it’ll become available for purchase later this year and it’s not even horribly expensive (somewhere around $150 for a set of 10 LED panels).

4. CES 2016 – Daqri’s AR Helmet

Ah, it’s happening again. All those projects that got inspired by Google Glass’ take on augmented reality don’t always have a whole lot of utility outside giving you some degree of hands-free access to various sources of information. Now, the Daqri is actually taking it to the next level by giving it a purpose in the field of industry.

It basically incorporates things such as blueprints, details and instructions that would otherwise require to either be held or stored within arms’ reach and away from getting lost or destroyed in hazardous scenarios. That way, the person using it could be guided to the source of a leak, directed through the process of fixing it and so on.

The AR helmet will be made available for purchase for enterprises sometime in Q1 of 2016 and it will come in bundles for a pretty spiky price – somewhere around $10,000 a piece.

5. CES 2016 – Segway Ninebot

It’s certainly cute. And it’s certainly equally creepy. Also not tilting the utility scales either; but it’s certainly something that can see plenty other improvements in the future. The Segway Ninebot was made through a partnership between Intel, Segway and Ninebot and ultimately resulted in a really friendly device that can carry you around.

Featuring a simple display that acts as the little robot’s eyes which constantly blink and seem to turn into a very happy expression most of the time it’s idle (you wouldn’t like carrying people around on your back all the time either, would you?), I kind of expected a very different voice to be used for it. Even if it seems to have a great sense of humor.

The robot can stream video through its front camera, has voice recognition, can check things out for you such as find out why your home alarm just went off while you were away and has an attachable set of arms. And while his hands have no opposable thumbs, the developer says that the Segway Ninebot can even pick things up.

6. CES 2016 – EHang 184 Passenger Drone: The Flying Taxi

This is basically a flying car; well, I guess not so much since it has no wheels to roll down happily down the road. What it does have, however, is eight blades that give it its octocopter title. The developer – EHang – claims this is the world’s first electric personal autonomous aerial vehicle. So that has me wondering: there is a company that is capable of making a flying vehicle that can take from place A to place B without you touching a thing and yet autonomous cars are still on the to do list for 2020 and beyond.

I guess an independently functioning car in the midst of New York’s crazy traffic is a little different and more dangerous than a take to the skies. Entering a collision course with another vehicle is potentially more problematic that entering a collision course with a sparrow for sure.

And yet, here we are. The EHang 184 can fly for 23 minutes on a full charge, it will probably require your lifetime savings as it’s priced at $300,000 and is illegal to fly in the United States right now too. So the hour of personal flying cars is still probably really far away.

7. CES 2016 – Immersit: Indoor Roller Coaster

No, okay, it’s not exactly a real roller coaster, but it makes you think it is. Afraid of heights? Terrified of your adrenaline levels going haywire in a potentially unsafe environment? Why not get over your fear of roller coasters in the safety of your own home? By making use of virtual reality gear and a rocking chair, Immersit can give you a rather realistic experience of what those Disney crazy rides would be like.

When I said rocking chair, I didn’t refer to one of those things you’d most likely be setting on your porch or by the fireplace, but something that looks very much like a regular – and particularly comfortable – leather armchair that does a little of those things that massage chairs do; but a little more intense than that.

There’s no pricing currently available for the Immersit, not any clear news of when this will be made available.

8. CES 2016 – Genworth Aging Suit

Occasionally referred to as the Aging Exoskeleton, this is one of those inventions that simply elicited a “why?!” from me. But then I thought that this may actually show some interesting use in other fields such as preparing astronauts for space travel. That one is simply a personal hunch though.

Regardless, the Genworth Aging Suit is an entire exoskeleton that simulates the way aging would affect your life and body. It’ll make you experience joints that aren’t as flexible as you’re used to, vision and hearing loss, muscles that feel like you’re carrying double your weight and so on.

I’m pretty sure this one was not made to increase sympathy towards the elderly, but has a medicinal and scientific purpose. Still, it seemed to be a particularly popular gadget at CES 2016.

9. CES 2016 – The Smartest Fridges Out There: brought to you by Samsung and LG

Samsung has showcased its own take on the smart fridge technology with its Family Hub – a fridge that’s equipped with cameras inside and a generous display on the outside. You can check what you have inside without ever having to open the door. And if you sync it to your phone, you can do this all the way from the supermarket too. Given its huge LCD display, it can act as a part-time entertainment center for you while you cook for example.

The LG’s refrigerator is not as smart but insanely perceptive. It can tell when you’re standing in its vicinity and knows to open the door by itself. Similarly, it’ll turn on its inside lights when you knock on its glass panel too.

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