Headless Robot Kitten to Egg-Shaped Vehicle: The Weirdest Tech We Saw at CES 2020
Every year, Consumer Electronics Show (CES) takes over Las Vegas, creating a technological heaven, packed with cool, wacky, and futuristic gadgets that range from useful to ‘no one ever asked for this’. CES, the world’s largest technology show, is no stranger to weird and wonderful devices. This year was no exception either. From the smallest to the largest tech companies around the world descended to Las Vegas on January 7th — 10th to excite us all with their cool new products and advertise their existing ones.
This year, the tech show managed to showcase some of the coolest smartphones, next-gen laptops, and fun wearable devices from some of our favourite brands. Apart from the obvious stuff, we also saw some of the weirdest gadgets that we might never need in our life. This included a bizarre circular smartphone, a headless kitten, and even a toilet paper delivery robot!
Here’s a round-up of some of the most unimaginable tech that we saw at CES this year.
The Gold-Plated Keyboard
The gold plated gaming keyboard, a version of XPS Summoner, was certainly an eye-catching weird device we saw at CES 2020. The keys, as well as the base, are all plated in gold. Though it is not currently for sale, the 24-Karat, gold-plated Summoner’s manufacturing price is $2,500 and would likely retail for about $10,000. If you have thousands of dollars lying around in your pocket and you love your bling, this is the right product for you!
The idea to make the gold plated keyboard was not the company’s idea. A customer had requested to make one. The company decided to manufacture 6 of them! We don’t have much information about when and if the company is going to launch in the market.
The Toilet Paper Robot
Ever run out of toilet paper in the washroom and had to shout for help? There’s nothing more disastrous than this, and the situation keeps getting more precarious by the second. But Charmin, an American toilet paper brand, unveiled ‘RollBot’. It is designed to come to the rescue at times like these, with an extra roll of toilet paper. This robot is controlled via a smartphone and will drop off a toilet roll during emergency situations. RollBot doesn’t have any arms though, which means the user will have to pre-load it with a toilet roll themselves. So if you buy it, you’ll have to remember to load the robot with toilet paper to save you during bathroom emergencies! The company said that the RollBot will not be available for sale.
The Egg-Shaped Vehicle
Segway’s newest-developed technology, S-Pod, debuted at the CES this year. It’s a seated version of the scooter extraordinaire and can travel at up to 24 mph. Segway intends that the smart pod will be used to transport people across campuses, theme parks, airports, etc. The quite unusually-shaped vehicle looks somewhat like the hover chairs from ‘Wall-E’ and runs on its own power. It is not intended to replace wheelchairs, as even people without disabilities can’t climb on it easily! No practical usage for these overpriced chairs can be seen at present.
The company announced that the S-Pod will be released in the second half of 2020. Probably they will launch it in a fleet form first, before doing any direct-to-customer sales.
Tiny Headless Robot Kitten
The headless kitten, Qoobo, first wiggled its way into our hearts about three years ago. The therapy pillow has now shrunk in size and is called Petit Qoobo. The earlier version of the cat got so popular, that people asked for a smaller version of it so that they could carry it around with them! The Petit Qoobo is a weird yet useful gadget for people who can’t own a pet, or have allergies, or for senior citizens who long for company. Petit Quoobo is expected to be released by the end of 2020.
This furry companion softly vibrates and wags its tail in response to human touch. It will also subtly wag its tail in response to sounds. The main selling point of this robot is that it is small and can fit into your purse. However, it is just a prototype as of now and is expected to be released by the end of this year. Once you get used to its lack of a head (quite a minor detail), you will love to carry it around and snuggle with it whenever you feel low.
The Circular Smartphone
If you’re bored and done with the typical rectangular smartphone, then this is the gadget for you! A tech startup, Cyrcle, showcased their new Android smartphone prototype at CES 2020. The Cyrcle Phone, which looks much like a compact mirror, has been under development for five years.
The company promised that they will be launching the smartphone later this year and will include two headphone jacks, dual-sim support, and Android 9 OS. The shape was developed while keeping women in mind, as the shape and size will better suit their hands.
Mateo Bathroom Mat
The Mateo’s Smart Bathroom Mat is a slim, flexible, and easy-to-carry version of the standard bathroom mat. It captures and tracks a variety of meaningful health data, including body weight, posture, and body composition. It also has an interchangeable cover that can be easily washed. Thanks to its technology of 7000-dot pressure mapping, it can recognise each registered user and shares their body metrics on the app. It also gives tailored advice that can be easily accessed through its companion app.
The mat not only recognises the footprints of the user but also creates a heat map of how your foot makes contact with the ground! The main aim of this technology is to reduce stress among people. The Mateo companion app will also send out alerts when a milestone is reached, whether its weight loss or improved posture. The demonstration of this gadget at the CES was just a prototype and the company is planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign in the next few months.
CES 2020 marked the dawn of a new decade in the world of tech and we surely saw some really cool gadgets. The event also showcased some downright weird gadgets that we might never want, let alone need. Although some of these were just marketing gimmicks by companies to plant their brand names into the audience’s mind, many of them really attempted to solve real problems in unconventional ways.
