Check out these weird but useful gadgets of CES 2023

This year’s edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s biggest tech-focused expo, concluded on Sunday, 8 January 2023.

Many of the world’s biggest tech companies use the event to showcase their latest cutting-edge gadgets that address daily life’s challenges or simply make it more interesting.

But CES also provides a great platform for industry newcomers to flaunt their unique and innovative hardware and software.

MyBroadband recently looked at some of the most impressive gadgets on show at CES 2023, which included a powerful exoskeleton and the world’s fastest toothbrush.

This time, we focused on ten peculiar but useful tech items on show throughout the expo.

AtmosGear Electric Skates

The world’s first in-line electrically-motorised roller skates boast a range of 20km per charge and a top speed of 25km/h.

Users can choose to operate the skates using a dedicated remote control to speed up, slow down or brake, or use the intelligent assistance mode in which the skate’s motors will amplify the user’s stride to reduce their effort.

When the battery is discharged, skaters can continue as they usually would to recharge the battery.

A similar recently-Kickstarted gadget that wasn’t at this year’s CES is Shift Robotics’ Moonwalkers, which promise walking at the speed of a run in any shoes.

LG MoodUp Refrigerator

Why settle for boring old silver, white, or black or be stuck with a striking red Smeg refrigerator when you can continuously change things up with the LG MoodUp?

This refrigerator features an array of LED panels which can be customised using the LG ThinQ app to display 19 different colours in the upper door section or 22 in the bottom.

The MoodUp also comes with a built-in Bluetooth speaker and can be set to display colours based on the mood of the music the user is playing.

Withings U-Scan

The Withings U-Scan is a hands-free home urine lab that consists of a round sensor with a 90mm diameter.

This device is ideally placed on the inside of the front of the toilet bowl, similar to a toilet rim block.

It can then be connected wirelessly to a smartphone app to share health biomarkers using the 3,000 metabolites in the user’s urine.

In the Nutri Balance mode, it can detect the following:

Specific gravity for water balance
pH for protein-vegetable balance
Ketones for energy metabolism
Vitamin C levels

A separate mode called Cycle Sync sets the device to monitor women’s menstrual cycles.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation named the U-Scan one of the “Worst in Show” over privacy concerns.

Samsung Bespoke AI Wall Oven

Tired of running between the TV and the oven when waiting on your meal to finish cooking?

Samsung’s Bespoke AI Oven comes with an internal camera that combines with an AI cooking system with food recognition and burn detection to avoid any cooking mishaps.

It can also recommend cooking settings by recognising 80 different dishes and ingredients.

HTC Vive XR Elite

HTC’s next-generation virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) headset boasts a more compact design than its predecessors, bringing it closer to conventional glasses.

Similar to Meta’s Quest Pro, the Vive XR Elite supports inside-out tracking, which means you don’t need to have cameras pointed at you to recognise movements.

Each eye supports a 1,920 x 1,920 resolution, combining to create a near-4K image. For travelling, users can also detach the battery pack from its cradle to make it easier to pack in.

It’s only a little peculiar because it looks like a pair of Tom Cruise’s aviator sunglasses. Now you can look like a fighter pilot while flying jets in VR.

GlüxKind Ella AI Baby Stroller

Nothing quite screams cool parent like an “AI-powered baby stroller”.

The GlüxKind Ella is a cutting-edge stroller with an electric dual-motor to help parents push when going uphill or when they just don’t have the energy.

It also has an intelligent downhill braking assist system which prevents the stroller from going beyond the user’s walking speed.

Other features include an automatic rocking movement and a white noise machine for soothing babies.

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

Lenovo’s latest Yoga Book ditches the foldable display and instead opts for two fully-functional OLED screens, a first-of-its-kind for laptops.

Instead of using the bottom display as a keyboard or an extension to the top display, users can also connect an external keyboard and use both of the laptop’s screens as fully-fledged monitors, useful for multitasking on the go.

The laptop can be placed in its typical orientation or flipped on its side for different aspect ratios.

FluentPet Talking Button System

FluentPet’s system makes it possible for anyone to feel like Dr Doolittle when communicating with their pets.

It comes in the form of interlocking plastic floor tiles, each of which can be fitted with a button with a word representing a particular need or want of your pet.

Users can then train their pets to associate these buttons with an action on the part of the owner, like putting food in the feeding bowl or opening the door for your pet to go outside.

In addition to playing back the sound, the owner can use Fluentpet Connect to send notifications on a mobile app and alert them if their pet wants or needs anything.

Displace TV

Two features make the Displace TV stand out from the rest — it is 100% wireless and can be fitted to a surface using nothing but large suction cups.

The TV boasts zero wires or ports and comes with long-lasting hot-swappable battery packs that offer up to a month’s usage based on an average watch time of six hours per day.

It weighs less than 20 pounds (roughly 9kg), allowing for fitting to a wall or strong glass surface using only Displace’s active-loop suction cups.

Like Samsung’s The Wall, users can snap together multiple Displace TVs to create a larger display with up to 16 panels measuring 220 inches and boasting 16K resolution.

Consumer Reports gave Displace TV a “Worst in Show” award over environmental concerns with its large lithium-ion battery packs.

LG Styler ShoeCare

For those who are really serious about their sneaker collection but also about addressing their chronic feet odour, LG offers the Styler ShoeCare.

The system boasts LG’s hygiene-enhancing TrueSteam technology to clean and dry a range of shoe types in various sizes.

Once cleaned, the shoes can be placed in an LG Style ShoeCase, which not only showcases the kicks with top-down lighting and a 360-degree turntable, but also protects them against humidity and fabric-discolouring UV light.