Because sometimes you need a Bluetooth toilet.
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is where tech companies showcase their latest advancements, newest products, and visions for the future. It is usually akin to a tech festival with ever-larger televisions, robotics, autonomous drones, smart home appliances, and more. And then there’s the Stuff that is just….different. It’s stuff that is closer to head-scratching than it is to jaw-dropping. We’ve gathered a few of the most unusual, or downright weird, stuff shown off at CES 2018.
Willow Wearable Breast Pump
It’s not that a breast pump is a weird product. They’re extremely helpful for busy mothers, and a wearable one seems like it adds an extra layer of convenience. Where things start to get weird is the Silicon Valley-ization of the tech, as you can follow your pumping progress on its companion app from your smartphone. The product page has all the cliches but stops short of calling it disruptive breast-feeding technology. If you’re interested however, you can sign up for the beta right now.
Numi Toilet
As computers become smaller and more powerful, they’re finding their way into everything, even toilets. This isn’t the first smart toilet Kohler has made, but it’s definitely the most advanced. For $6,500 (a price that doesn’t include installation), you get the Maybach Benz of toilets. Heated seat, deodorizing mist, built-in bidet, foot warmers, illuminated panels, and it’s all controlled with a wireless touch-screen remote. It’s also Bluetooth capable so you can stream your music to it, which could help disguise certain noises too. Honestly, it sounds pretty amazing.
Sony’s New Aibo
The Aibo is not a new product, as it’s been around since 1999. This year at CES Sony let an updated version of Sony’s beloved robot dog out of the kennel. It’s stronger, faster, and cuter than ever before. Sony originally announced it was bringing back the dog in October, and during Sony’s CES keynote promised early adopters would soon begin receiving their pets. But the weirdest part of Sony’s Aibo (pronounced EYE-bo) is that owners refer to themselves as Aiboners (Aibo owners, that is).
FoldiMate
This is actually a really awesome idea. You feed your clothes into the top and through some manner of sorcery, the Foldimate turns all your laundry into perfect stacks. It claims to do the task in just 4 minutes and prices start at a mere $980 USD.
Animal-Shaped Bluetooth Speakers
We checked out some of these animal shaped speakers at CES 2018 and they’re kind of cute? They definitely look like they’re marketed to your tech-savvy grandma, so be prepared to stop over and help her pair a first-gen iPod Touch to one of them. While most look like cats or dogs, there’s a sweet T-Rex and even a bear with fake flowers growing out of his skull too for the more mountainous types.
AirSelfie Drone
It was only a matter of time before both drone and selfie technology came together in one snazzy package. The AirSelfie is a phone case that turns into a drone. More accurately, it’s a phone case that also hides a drone inside. Simply pair it to your phone, toss it into the air, and start taking pictures of yourself without having to pretend like you aren’t holding the camera.
Yamaha Motobot
Yamaha had some really cool stuff on display, including several industrial-sized, autonomous drones and a self-balancing autonomous motorcycle. But Yamaha also has a robot that can ride a motorcycle, making humans almost entirely obsolete (just don’t tell Valentino). Fortunately, Yamaha hasn’t released a robot horse or a robot that can ride horses. Should that happen, we all will be doomed by the robot horse rebellion.
Razer’s Massive Mechanical Keyboard
Leave it to Razer to bring a mechanical keyboard the size of an XL coffee table to the show. Despite its prodigious size it functioned just like a normal keyboard and had a tactile bump when we pressed the keys. Since it’s Razer, it had full RGB lighting as well. It’s a shame they didn’t have a mouse we could ride like a mechanical bull.
Seth Macy’s goal is to someday own a horse. Follow him on Twitter to check his progress @sethmacy.
