It’s been quite the busy week in Las Vegas at CES 2024 and while here, Tom’s Guide has seen everything from cutting-edge tech to see-through OLED TVs along with plenty of robot vacuums. However, one theme we’ve seen across product categories that’s really been a big part of this year’s show is AI.
Whether it was a grill, a pet accessory or even in some of the games we got to try out, AI was everywhere. In fact, AI was mentioned more than 300 times at all of the meetings and keynotes we attended during CES.
While we released our best of CES 2024 awards earlier this week, we’re back with a list of the weirdest gadgets we saw at this year’s show. There is some crossover though, as a lot of the gadgets and devices we went hands-on with were quite strange when compared to what we saw during our previous years covering CES. Without further ado, here’s our list of the weirdest gadgets we saw at CES 2024.
Rabbit R1
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Rabbit R1 before it was unveiled and we actually got a chance to go hands-on with it at CES. Instead of trying to replace your smartphone like the Humane AI Pin, the Rabbit R1 does quite a lot in a tiny package for just $199.
Designed by Teenage Engineering, this little gadget makes AI actionable and you can ask it to do stuff like book a flight or add rows to a spreadsheet. The catch is that you have to show its Large Action Model how to do what you want first. The Rabbit R1 isn’t just a concept device though and the first batch will be in people’s hands by March 31.
Seergrills Perfecta
What’s better than food fresh off the grill? A steak cooked to perfection by AI obviously. The Seergrills Perfecta is the world’s first AI-powered grill and after seeing it in action, our global editor in chief Mark Spoonauer walked away quite impressed.
But where does AI come into play? According to Seergrills, the Perfecta uses a quad-core processor along with a suite of smart sensors to measure the food you’re cooking and the environment. It also has vertical burners and 360° cooking, so you don’t need to flip anything. There's a downside though — the Seergrills Perfecta costs $3,500. But if you want some super simple grilling, it might be worth it.
Gnu Electric Kids Suitcase
There’s lots of rideable luggage, but we haven’t seen anything as cute as the Gnu. This motorized three-wheeler is steered by moving its horns forward and back, the front wheel lights up, while a Bluetooth speaker in the front can play music. The Gnu’s seat pops open to reveal a small storage area. The Gnu’s speed maxes out at 5 miles per hour, so your little one can’t moooove away from you too fast.
On Gyroor’s site, it says the suitcase will be available in May for $199. Hopefully, it won’t be old gnus by then.
Artly Robot Barista
Now this really puts the Java into java. The Artly Robot Barista is a mechanical arm that can whip up lattes, cappuccinos, espressos and other frothy drinks — even better, it can make latte art pretty well, too.
Put in your request via the Artly app, and watch the machine go to work: The arm sits in the center of a coffee station, and moves around, from the grinder to the espresso maker to the milk frother, putting everything together, while a projected image lets you know how long it will take until your brew is ready.
From start to finish, it takes about 3 minutes to make a latte, so baristas don’t have to worry about losing their jobs just yet. Currently, Artly has about 10 locations nationwide, including two in Seattle, six in San Francisco, and one in New York.
Swarovski Optik AX Visio
When you think of Swarovski, diamonds likely come to mind. At CES though, we saw the Austrian luxury brand unveil a set of smart binoculars with built-in AI that can identify over 9,000 species of birds, mammals, butterflies and dragonflies. Likewise though, these AI-powered binoculars also let you record photos and videos of the animals you see and share them from your smartphone.
They aren’t "cheep" though and when the AX Visio launches in February, these smart binoculars will set you back $4,799 — which makes the Bird Buddy look like an absolute steal of a deal in comparison.
Flappie AI-powered Cat Flap
Smart pet tech was all the rage at CES 2024, and one gadget that caught our attention was the Flappie. This smart cat door uses motion sensors and AI vision technology to spot when your favorite feline friend tries to bring small animals into your house. And as any cat owner will tell you, they often do.
The Flappie can identify when your pet has prey in its mouth in at least 90% of cases. When this happens, the door locks and your cat won’t be allowed inside until they drop their prey. The Flappie is also able to detect pet microchips and it uses this information to ensure the door only opens for a specific pet.
Razer x Dolce Gabbana chair
Razer may have announced its unexpected partnership with the luxury brand Dolce&Gabbana back in September, but at CES we had a chance to see the fruits of this collaboration first hand. The Dolce&Gabbana-branded Razer headset is what you’d expect but the souped-up version of the Razer Enki Pro is something else.
If you want one of the best gaming chairs but prefer Dolce&Gabana’s black on gold as opposed to Razer’s neon green, this could be the one for you. It doesn’t come cheap at $2,999 and it’s already sold out though.
Miroka and Miroki
Robots were the other big trend besides AI at CES 2024. Besides these more conventional robots, we also went hands-on with and spent some time with two hospital robots named Miroka and Miroki.
Funny enough, we saw Miroka on our first day at CES, but it didn’t quite capture our attention. It was until we spotted Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at Eureka Park interacting with Miroki that we gave them a second chance, and we were all glad we did.
These robots have a ball at their base, which they use to move around, along with a very expressive, animated face. For instance, when our managing editor of computing Jason England pushed Miroki, the robot let out a small yelp and had a shocked face. You likely won’t ever be able to buy either of these robots but you may see them when visiting a hospital or a nursing home.
eVTOL Flying Car
Forget self-driving cars, what we really want are flying cars and we got to see the closest thing to one at CES with eVTOL Flying Car. In fact, this concept car doesn’t just fly, it also transforms like one of the Autobots from Transformers.
Xpeng Aeroht, the company behind this flying car, demonstrated how its arms open up and propellers raised from the back of the vehicle and then spread out. They even managed to spin slightly to help give the illusion that this supercar concept was about to take off. The eVTOL Flying Car is also quite small and only seats two but it did get our imaginations going while making us hopeful for the future the Jetsons promised us all those years ago.
Master & Dynamics MW75-Neuro
This one's definitely all about the weird at CES 2024. Rather than strapping an odd contraption over your head, the MW75-Neuro from Neurable is a pair of wireless headphones designed in collaboration with Master & Dynamics that can read your brain waves.
The purpose of this is to determine your level of focus, which is handy when you need to take a break. While wearing the MW75-Neuro and using the companion app, neural sensors built into the headphones will measure your brainwaves — which could recognize signs of stress. Ultimately, it could help with people's mental health and well bring, while also working like any premium pair of wireless headphones for music listening.
Spacetop
Mixed reality glasses are all the rage at tech's biggest show of the year, but one of the oddities in the bunch we saw is the Spacetop. It's essentially a new form of spatial computing that's part AR glasses, part AR laptop.
The latter's the weirder of the two because it's essentially a screen-less Chromebook. By wearing the glasses, you're transported into a customized version of Android that overlays where the screen normally sits on the laptop keyboard. Sure, it's wonderful that you have the tactility of the keyboard through this mixed reality experience, but the Spacetop's $2,150 asking price doesn't make it any more appealing than other existing spatial computing solutions out on the market right now.
Check out our CES 2024 hub for all the latest news from the show as it happens. Follow the Tom’s Guide team in Las Vegas as we cover everything AI, as well as the best new TVs, laptops, fitness gear, wearables and smart home gadgets at the show.
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