Interesting gadgets at CES 2024

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The latest advances and gadgets across personal tech, transportation, health care, sustainability and more were on display at CES 2024. This multi-day trade event put on by the Consumer Technology Association brought in approximately 130,000 attendees and more than 4,000 exhibitors to Las Vegas, with burgeoning uses of artificial intelligence almost everywhere you look. The following are some of the most quirky smart gadgets at this year’s show:.

GyroGlove
Roberta Wilson-Garrett used to be a morning person who would leap out of bed at dawn. Until, that is, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease six years ago. Now her hands twist and tremor, making the morning time, when her medicine is wearing off, especially difficult. Boston-based GyroGear, a medical tech startup, debuted a hand-stabilizing glove at CES 2024 that it hopes will help people like Wilson-Garrett regain control of their lives.

“It makes life normal for me again. The things that you take for granted, I don’t take for granted anymore,” Wilson-Garrett told AP on the show floor as her right hand shook. “It gives me back a piece of my old life when I have the glove on.”

Fortune Telling AI
Can generative AI tell your future? A fortune teller showcased by South Korean manufacturing and IT services giant SK Group at CES this week gives us a glimpse.

SK’s AI Fortune Teller, which is powered by high-bandwidth memory technology, claims that it can tell users’ their fortune by reading their emotions. The machine snaps a photo of your face and, naturally, asks you to select a card from an on-screen deck. Within moments, the AI analyzes facial characteristics and produces an Tarot card-like print with a short, future-looking message or piece of advice.

This AI fortune teller isn’t available to consumers outside of CES. Organizers note that it’s featured in the Las Vegas show to help display SK’s latest tech and sustainability advances — noting that the HBM3, for example, helps reduce energy use. Other attractions advertised at the “SK Wonderland” interactive exhibit include a fully-electric dancing car and train that’s capable of being powered by hydrogen energy.

Flying Taxi
A new flying taxi concept, dubbed the S-A2 by Hyundai, made its debut at CES 2024.
The South Korean vehicle manufacturer envisions the electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle as a commuter solution for urban areas with heavy traffic.

Hyundai claims the vehicle will be able to cruise at 120 mph (190 kph) at a 1,500-foot (460-meter) altitude while operating as quietly as a dishwasher. The S-A2 builds on Hyundai’s S-A1 concept, which made its debut at CES in 2020. Company officials say they are working to get the vehicle ready to meet flight standards set by nations around the world.

Indoor Smoker
GE Appliances is looking to change the way you smoke food with its new $1,000 indoor smoker.
About the size of a toaster oven or microwave, the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker can fit a full brisket cut in half, 40 chicken wings or three racks of ribs. It still uses wood pellets to achieve a smokey flavor, but its technology traps the smoke inside, making it “perfect for people who live in urban environments,” like high-rise apartments, said Whitney Welch, a spokesperson for GE Appliances

Robotic Masseuse
Artificial intelligence has been seen powering smart home hubs, cars, TVs, medical devices and even fingernail printers at CES 2024. Now it’s giving massages.
Created by French company Capsix Robotics, iYU uses artificial intelligence to perform a real-time body scan and recommend the best kind of experience for the user. A robotic arm then performs a variety of massage techniques.

Physical iPhone Keyboard
It’s a new product but the functionality might ring familiar — Clicks Technologies’ iPhone keyboard is making a splash at CES 2024.
According to co-founder Johnathan Young, the smartphone accessory is aimed at three core audiences: iPhone users with dexterity or accessibility issues, the younger generation looking to stand out, and people who miss their previous smartphone keyboards.

Getting Your Voice Back
Dutch startup Whispp aims to use AI to help millions of people suffering from vocal impairments speak again in their natural voices.

While many current technologies focus on speech-to-text or text-to-speech, Whispp is using audio-to-audio-based AI, resulting in almost real-time speech conversion.
Users also have the unique ability to recreate their distinct voice by providing recordings of their current or past voice, adding a personalized touch to their own communication.
At CES 2024, Whispp launched an AI-powered assistive speech and phone-calling app.
www.ces.tech

Associated Press reporters Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Rio Yamat, McKinnon de Kuyper and Shawn Chen contributed to this report