by The 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing this week in Las Vegas with 130,000 attendees expected to flow through its doors.
At the annual technology convention, tech companies around the world are showing off their latest technologies – and this year, it’s everything from hair dryers to air taxis.
Here are some of the weird and wonderful gadgets that are attracting attention at the world’s biggest tech fair so far.
A L’Oreal hair dryer that uses infrared light
L’Oreal has developed a hair dryer that uses a combination of infrared light and air, unlike traditional thermal wands to dry hair faster.
“We’ve created a whole new way of thinking about how to use a hairdryer,” said Guive Balooch, global managing director of augmented beauty and open innovation at L’Oreal Research.
“By having the light, not only are you able to heat the air more efficiently… it makes your hair 59 percent smoother visually, so you get hair more hydrated, smoother hair, and less damage,” said Balooch.
The cosmetics company says the AirLight Pro uses up to 31 percent less energy compared to traditional hair dryers.
The handheld device can be controlled using an app when users want to change temperature or styling settings.
Automated BMW valet parking
German automaker BMW has invited visitors to test drive its new BMW iX concept car. One of its new features is automated valet parking that allows teleworking.
This means that a teleoperation driver can park a car without sitting in the vehicle.
BMW says the underlying technology can be used for an autonomous driving system and a remote-controlled valet parking system.
When controlled remotely, the concept car can go up to 10 km/h. Cameras on the vehicle send video images to a teleoperation workstation where the images are displayed.
The control commands are then sent back to the vehicle via a wireless network.
“There are many use cases… they [It] it could be applied to assembly plants, it could be applied to rental cars, it could be applied to car sharing vehicles. But there are more other use cases for the end customer. When you can think about being driven while doing your email or whatever,” said BMW’s Thorsten Schmitt.
Creating a few AIs for content creators
A new app by a California-based firm, Hollo AI, is designed to generate a few AIs for humans in minutes.
The company hopes its app will help content creators with time-consuming jobs and help them connect with fans around the world without language barriers.
“We built this as the idea that a creator, a user, could make money while they sleep and interact while they sleep. So their fans can engage with them and talk to them in 29 different languages,” a said Rex Wong, CEO of Hollo AI. .
All you need are your selfies and voice memos, and the ‘Cat GPT’ app will bring out your personality in minutes, says Hallo AI.
“Social media is not a 9 to 5 job. It’s a 24 hour job. There are no breaks. So I definitely think Hollo AI, definitely will give me a little break because now they’re not just like with me. face-to-face, but they’re putting me on their phone 24-7,” said McKenzi Brooke, a content creator based in Los Angeles.
Hyundai shows off its air taxi
Supernal, the air taxi subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, showcased its new air taxi, S-A2 made for affordable daily air travel for passengers.
The 4-passenger electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle is designed to cruise 193 km/h at an altitude of 457 m.
There are eight inclined rotors and Supernal says the battery-powered aircraft should operate quietly compared to traditional helicopters.
“The beauty is that it is all powered by a battery. So, no emission. And because the rotors are smaller, there are smaller blades and distribution, so it will be quieter, Much quieter than the helicopter,” said Jaiwon Shin, president. of Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of Supernal.
Shin says the company will focus primarily on urban areas because areas currently populated by aircraft are limited to normal commercial operations.
“It will be complementary to ground transportation by opening the skies over our cities,” Shin said.
The president of the company says that it is set to enter the market by 2028, by which time, according to him, regulations should be ready for such air travel.
Foldable OLED displays from Samsung
Samsung Display says its latest foldable OLED displays are tougher than ever.
They managed to go through a range of tests – from folding in extreme temperatures to bouncing a basketball on the panels.
“What we managed to achieve is the highest military standards. From temperature shocks like 60 degrees high to -20, acceleration, drop test, as well as icing to ensure that the user confident that the foldable OLED display you buy will be perfect no matter what the user’s situation is,” said Chirag Shah, Senior Director of Marketing Business Development at Samsung Display.
The company says that OLED displays are more suitable for vehicle interiors compared to LCD screens because they are less affected by freezing temperatures.
“OLED offers great customization capability and flexibility to customize a display,” said Shah.
“There is a passenger information display. There is a cluster information display. We have side or e-mirrors available,” he said.
The annual CES trade fair runs from January 9th to January 12th this year.
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