The Best New Tech from CES 2018

(Image credit: Consumer Electronics Show)

The wrap up of this year’s CES marks 51 years since the famous trade show began back in 1967, and like all others before them, companies pack the halls with their latest innovations in consumer technology. It’s interesting to see how far technology has evolved over that half century- 1967 saw the emergence of pocket radios and TV’s with integrated circuits, 1982 saw the unveiling of the Commodore 64, and in 2005 Microsoft’s Bill Gates demonstrated the latest rendition of Windows Media Center that crashed with the Blue Screen of Death.

2018 saw the most recent in autonomous vehicle tech, fantastic new displays, smart home/IoT gadgets, AR/VR headsets, robotics and more. It’s a challenging endeavor to choose the best out of a vendor list of 4,000 exhibiting companies but that being said, there were a few that are a cut above the rest and brought a new level of innovation in their respective markets. Without wasting any more time, here are the five best entries featured at CES 2018-

Best 3D Printer: Ethereal Machines’ Ethereal Halo

(Image credit: Ethereal Machines)

Ethereal Machines dubs their Halo as a ‘5D’ printer, and for good reason, it’s an additive/subtractive/manufacturing machine, or more poignantly known as 5-axis machining. The Halo is an advanced type of milling machine that uses five different axes of movement to produce complex shapes, which works using the standard X, Y, and Z-axis as well as two other rotational dimensions.

Not only does the print heat rotate but the bed as well, producing geometries that would be difficult using other techniques. The machine is capable of using a wide range of materials including wax, foam, nylon, and plastics (for subtractive manufacturing) along with a swath of traditional additive materials (ABS, PLA, PC, PVA, etc.). While the Halo is impressive for an all-in-one platform, it comes with an equally impressive price tag at $25,000. Nevertheless, you do get what you pay for.

Best AI Programming Device: Intel Movidius Neural Compute Stick

(Image credit: Intel)

Intel’s Movidius Neural Compute Stick is an unusual little USB 3.0 device that packs a Myriad 2 VPU (Video Processing Unit), an onboard DNN (Deep Neural Network) accelerator, camera inputs and was designed to handle image processing chores and AI applications. This essentially allows host devices to process DNNs natively rather than in the cloud, giving developers the option to develop any number of offline AI applications.

Movidius works with nearly any system, including ARM-based platforms such as the Raspberry Pi 3 as well as those running Ubuntu and is capable of running neural networks natively using the Caffe framework. What’s great about the NCS device is that researchers can use it as an accelerator, giving their systems a little extra juice (you can even chain them together) for training and designing neural nets. Users can also connect them to various design projects for AI implementation directly into the device. The best part- it costs only $79 and is available now. 

Best HUD Display: Nuviz Motorcycle Head-Up Display

(Image credit: Ride Nuviz)

There isn’t a lot of AR/mixed reality tech for those who ride motorcycles, and overlay information could come in handy when looking at risky road conditions. Nuviz changed all that with the introduction of their Head-Up Display, which keeps you informed (with minimal distraction) while keeping your eyes on the road.

The device clips to your helmet and projects a virtual screen (simulating 13-feet in front of the rider) that can show vital information such as speed and navigation utilizing the onboard GPS. Riders can also receive and make calls, listen to music (wirelessly via Bluetooth) and can take photos and video via the built-in action camera. Navigating the menu is done with a small hand-held remote you can attach to your bike, and best of all, no cables need to be connected, potentially distracting the riders. The Nuviz Head-Up Display is available direct from the Nuviz website for $699.

Best Wearable Smart Device: Siren Diabetic Socks

(Image credit: Siren)

Wearable medical devices are being developed that can help monitor a person’s vital statistics and warn them and medical professionals that there is a problem. New smart socks developed by Siren do just that for people with diabetes. The company’s Diabetic Socks monitor heat emanating from the foot due to swelling, which frequently happens to those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients. This swelling can lead to a host of issues, including infection and even amputation.

Early detection can prevent most of those injuries and Siren’s Socks do this well by weaving temperature sensors into the fabric, keeping them close to the skin. Temperature data is stored in both the sock and an accompanying mobile device app that provides an alert and vital data when temperature differences are detected. Siren’s Diabetic Socks are not yet available to the public, but you can join the company’s waitlist and be notified when they are released.   

Best Smart Toy: My Special Aflac Duck

No, Aflac’s My Special Duck toy isn’t the best toy on the market in a world loaded with smart devices, not even close but it made this list for a reason- it’s designed to help kids who have cancer. The My Special Aflac Duck is outfitted with five touch sensors located on its wings, cheeks, and back and when kids snuggle or pet it, the duck will cuddle back or give a quack in response.

It also comes with an accessory bag containing a bunch of different RFID emojis that can insert into the duck’s chest to correspond to how they’re feeling at that time and the duck will emulate that emotion with a happy chirp or a painful groan and more. There’s also an IV set they can use to simulate giving the duck medicine, helping them get through their chemotherapy treatments. Using the IV puts the duck in medication mode, where it’s head will produce gentle heartbeat-like pulses to calm them down.

The final accessory is an RFID rocket ship, that when attached, uses a mobile device app to send kids to their happy place of choice through sound, including amusement parks, gardens, rainforests and more. The goal behind My Special Aflac Duck is to help kids going through cancer treatments feel like they are not alone while going through the process, which can be frightening even for adults. The best part- Aflac will provide every child going through cancer treatment across the US their own My Special Aflac Duck for free!

While there are only five entries in this list, it could easily be filled with hundreds more gadgets and gizmos, enough to write a book but choosing which are best in any given category would take months, to say the least. Feel free to add your own favorites and what you like about them, what makes them contenders for the CES awards!

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