While waiting for the official opening of CES in Las Vegas, the big show dedicated to new technologies, the first exhibitions allow you to discover the trends of the year. Unsurprisingly, there are some very fun things to be found at CES in Las Vegas, sometimes even seductive.
The largest show dedicated to new technologies is not just a place where revolutionary products are announced. On the contrary, most of the time, the novelties of startups and big brands fall more into the category of “gadgets”. Do not see any harm in it, it is not because a product is not essential that it is not attractive. Several of the products discovered by Numerama at CES 2023 are really exciting, even if their concepts give the impression of being in a parody series (ah, Silicon Valley we miss sometimes).
The connected shower, first favorite of the CES
In the middle of the aisles of CES Unveiled, the event where companies meet before the start of the show, several products intrigued us. There is of course the first wireless television on the planet, but also much more unusual objects, such as the Kohler connected shower. We are not talking here about a shower head that can be controlled on a smartphone, but about an entire shower cubicle. The shower column that you turn by hand is replaced by a touch screen that works under water and can receive voice commands.
What’s the point ? To offer more options to the inhabitants of a house according to Kohler. The water temperature can be controlled to the nearest degree, the intensity can be precisely adjusted, you can switch from one mode to another easily… Even more fun, you can use Google Assistant and Alexa to increase or decrease the temperature when your head is under water. At the end of the shower, we collect statistics on the water consumed and on its temperature habits. It’s silly, probably not very useful, but it makes us really want to redo our bathroom.
Regarding the risk of electrocution (yes, this is a detail that counts), Kohler explains to us that the power station of his connected shower can be placed outside the bathroom. The cable that powers it is long and moisture resistant.
The connected bath mat, a not-so-dumb idea
On the stand of the French startup Baracoda, there is a fun product called BBalance. It’s not new (we’ve already seen it at other shows), but it still has its charm. His concept is far from stupid, Baracoda has integrated a kind of scale into a bath mat. No need to buy a separate product, brushing your teeth or drying yourself out of the shower is enough to obtain statistics on your weight or posture. Thanks to a foot recognition system, the bath mat can also identify different people in a family.
Marketed at a price of 299 euros, the Baracoda bath mat must be recharged every 4 months. It’s more expensive than a scale, but it makes it possible to do without an additional object in small bathrooms.
Virtual reality gloves come true (got it?)
So admittedly, we look a bit ridiculous when we try on the bHaptics gloves. But the technology presented by this company has something to appeal to some of the most assiduous users of virtual reality.
If the future of consumer headsets is undoubtedly control directly with your hands, virtual reality gloves can increase immersion. We can shake hands, grab objects or touch walls as if they were real. These gloves could have a future in the video game sector or in very realistic demonstrations.
The battery-powered cooler, because why not?
Ecoflow, the specialist in giant batteries capable of powering anything and everything (a heater, an air conditioner, a motorhome…), has some fun new products at CES 2023. Among them is a portable cooler ( capable of making ice cubes) entirely powered by a battery. You can therefore go on an excursion for several days, with ice cubes and frozen foods.
But that’s not all, we also find at Ecoflow an autonomous lawnmower, also on battery. The CES is a place full of surprises, we can’t wait to discover more.