I always find strange gadgets at CES. There’s no way around this, with thousands of exhibitors peddling their wares and trying to find a market for something no one has thought of before. From startups to giants like Samsung, there’s plenty to make us pause, chuckle, and shake our heads. Here are some of our favorites from CES 2024. Keep in mind that weird doesn’t necessarily mean bad. It just means weird.
If you squint, you’ll see that a laptop paired with AR glasses can offer a much more expansive and immersive experience than a standard 14-inch laptop screen. Unfortunately, the narrow field of view, spongy keyboard, and high price make this a bit of a non-starter.
Yes, Barry is definitely cute. We were excited to see it moving around in the demo area of his CES booth at Samsung. But it’s still pretty weird to have a little robot follow you around so it can project a workout video onto the ceiling while you work on your abs.
Moonwalker has a lofty premise. Every time a person wearing a Moonwalker takes a step, they go just a little further than they normally would, allowing them to walk more efficiently over the course of a day, a week, or a lifetime. The new “X” model is lighter and has fewer wheels, which should theoretically make it easier to manufacture. However, the original Moonwalker cost around $1,400, which was prohibitive. It might be better to walk a little faster.
I can see the potential use case for putting a more intelligent voice assistant in your car using ChatGPT, but having your car tell you stories about dinosaurs was a pretty weird way to demonstrate it.
We’ve all seen videos of dogs “playing” musical instruments, but this may be the first video made just for a pet. “Teach” your dog to “play” this “piano” and you’re sure to have hours of fun. The $299 device also comes with an automatic feeder that encourages your dog to keep walking.
I find that downtempo music is equally calming for studying pets and comics. We like the study showing this, but it doesn’t explain why this is better than just letting your dog listen to your Spotify account.
Now, look how cute this is! Enter the poor man, your cruel and arbitrary cat door.
To be clear, “weird” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad” or “useless.” Adam-X certainly seems useful for medical training. But hey, it’s also a little uncomfortable.
We will be reporting live on CES 2024, which will be held in Las Vegas from January 6th to 12th.Check out all the latest news from the show here.