CES 2017, the Consumer Electronics Show, is well under way. As always, CES brings out the weirdest and most experimental gadgets imaginable and puts them in the spotlight. Some of these products feel like clever technology straight out of a science fiction novel—and others are just straight weird.
Here are some of the weirdest and most interesting gadgets from CES this year:
6. Smart Cane
A smart cane seems like a silly idea on the surface, but it’s probably a lot more useful than other items that have arbitrarily been given smart features.
It’s made by a French company called Dring and it’s main function is the ability to notify family members if the person has fallen or has an emergency. When you think about it that way, a smart cane could actually be a very helpful product for the elderly.
5. Sensorwake Oria
If you have trouble waking up on time, you’ve probably tried just about anything to get you out of bed in the morning. The Sensorwake Oria is providing a bizarre solution to the problem: fart smells. Okay—it’s not just farts, but the idea of the device is to put it next to your bed and have it pump out odors to wake you up.
4. Smart Underwear
Of course there’s smart underwear! But the function of this smart underwear isn’t what you’d think: it’s to protect your precious privates from radiation. That’s right. The startup wants to protect you from the danger of smartphone radiation that could supposedly have a negative effect on sperm.
3. Hover Camera Passport Flying Selfie Camera
We always knew this would come eventually, but CES has finally given us what we’ve all always wanted: a selfie drone that follows us around at all times.
In other words, the Hover Camera Passport is your own personal paparazzi. It’s not all just for self-obsessive narcissism though. In the video above, the company shows off examples of some fun action shots such as having the drone follow you off a cliff jump or follow you from behind on a bike ride. What’s more, the drone looks like it’s really good at self-balancing and not crashing into things.
2. Hydrao Smart Showerhead
Here’s a gadget you probably never though you needed, but if you’re a conservationist, it could be pretty useful. The Hydrao Smart Showerhead measures how much water you’re using in your shower, and lets you know when you’ve gone over your suggested water limit.
The interesting (and slightly weird) thing about the showerhead is the way it notifies you: by changing colors. When you’ve gone over, the lights change colors, which I’d imagine would be a really great way to freak out your houseguests.
1. Smart Hairbrush
We’ve seen all sorts of silly products that “smart” capabilities have been dumped onto—but none quite like this. The smart hairbrush comes a team-up between wearable developers Withings and beauty company L’Oreal.
The idea is that as you use this WiFi-enabled hairbrush, it is monitoring both the health of your hair and the way you are brushing it. The market for such a product is pretty niche, though (like things like smart toothbrushes) if you’re serious about your hair, maybe this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.