The Weird and Wacky Products That You Might Have Missed at CES

Tons of products were launched at CES this year.  Some are “launched” in an idea or prototype way, where they are looking for assistance in taking the product to the next level. That said, some products are amazing and you wonder why they haven’t been developed sooner.  On the other hand, some are a bit more “odd” and you question whether or not they will see the light of day.  Which is what I want to talk to you about in this post.  Please note, when I say weird or whacky, that is not derogatory in any way.  In fact, I find some of these products to be kind of cool. But that doesn’t make them any less weird. What weird, and wacky things were launched at this year’s CES?

Lovebox

Let’s start with Lovebox.  At first, this was a bit weird to me, but I think I’m warming up to it.  Lovebox is the product of a successful Kickstarter campaign.  Lovebox is a small box with a heart on the outside and an LCD screen on the inside.  What does it do, exactly?  Well, you can send a message to the box, which makes the heart spin.  Then lift the lid to be able to read the message sent to you.  I thought this was a bit odd at first because you wonder who is going to send messages to the box.  But, after watching the above video, I realized that my creative brain was turned off and I kind of think it’s a good idea.  All of the examples in the video are valid.

Take the love aspect out of it, and it can be applied in other areas as well.  If you’re staying in a hotel, how annoying is it when the concierge calls? I hate answering the phone most days, and would much prefer to get a message to my room.  That way I can decide how and when I will respond to the request.  It’s probably easier on their end as well.  Rather than having to call grumpy me, they can now just send me a message.

Elucidator Smart Sword

Is a smart sword necessary? Since I’m not a super fan of the main character, Kirito from Sword Art Online, the answer is no. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t tons of people out there who would actually like this.  The concept for the sword is neat, but outside of fans, is this going to be a big hit? I’m not one to judge as I am into some weird things.  That said, I’m not sure that this is going to take off in the way that the developers hope it will.  But maybe it will lead to other ideas that do go somewhere?

VOLO Cordless Hair Dryer

This concept makes me geek out.  Probably because I think that this is incredibly necessary.  And why has it taken so long to come up with this?  The ladies out there will know what I’m talking about when it comes to a cordless hair dryer.  Even the new Dyson hair dryer that costs $500 isn’t cordless.  That said, the batteries in these devices aren’t always the best.  Hopefully, VOLO has thought about that, and they’ve actually created an incredible product.

Square Off Connected Chess Board

Square Off allows you to play chess with real people, or an AI-powered “person”. The latter is kind of scary and we already know what machine learning can do in the gaming industry.  In this case, you have a physical board that moves the pieces.  AI is kind of scary in these instances because you just never know what’s going to happen.  That said, I do like the concept as I’m always interested in how this industry is changing.

Wonder Painter 3D

Last, and maybe in this case maybe the least interesting one on our list of “weird and wacky”.  The concept looks really cool, but where can you go with this?  You draw a picture, then take a picture of it with your smartphone, which then turns the drawing into an animation on your screen.  I think the idea of this is neat as it could help get kids interested in drawing/animation and other kinds of design, but it’s kind of weird. Like I said, though, these are kind of the more obscure things found at CES this year.  I am happy to see the creativity of all of these things.  Even if my personal opinion of them isn’t that great.