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The 15 best robots and AI tech we saw at CES 2024
Ogmen Robotics's Oro pet companion robot was on display at CES 2024.
Artificial intelligence (AI) remains one of the buzziest technologies around, and it's no surprise that it's been a main attraction at CES 2024. Although AI was mainly represented in chatbots in the past year, companies are now finding more innovative ways to incorporate the technology into hardware, including everything from futuristic robots to laptops and onto products that would have never been possible before.
Also: Best of CES 2024: ZDNET editors' top picks
With so many AI-related announcements at CES this year, it can be difficult to distinguish between what's simple AI hype and what's actual visionary technology. To help you understand what tech is most important, I've created a roundup of the AIs and robots that have distinguished themselves from the rest based on factors such as helpfulness, uniqueness, and real-world applications.
To find out my top picks for the best AI-infused products at CES 2024, keep reading. Also, most of my picks have won CES 2024 Innovation Awards, which shows just how good these devices are.
The Motion Pillow uses AI to help tackle snoring problems and give you a better night's sleep. The AI Motion System detects a user's snoring and slowly inflates airbags to lift their head and open their airway to reduce it. The accompanying app tracks sleep data, including snoring time, airbag operation time, sleep score, sleep time, and even takes recordings of your snoring to play back later.
To build on the technology, the company also introduced an accompanying Motion Ring to monitor your sleep status in real time and send data to the motion system for a more seamless experience. The combination of the ring with the pillow, known as motionsleep, earned the CES 2024 Innovation Award in the Smart Home category.
The Motion Pillow alone costs $699, but it's 40% off during the CES exhibition period, retailing at $420.
2. Bmind Smart Mirror
The Bmind Smart Mirror claims to be the world's first AI-powered smart mirror for mental wellness, according to manufacturer Baracoda. Leveraging generative AI, the mirror can provide personalized recommendations, such as light therapy sessions, guided meditation, and self-affirmations based on your mental state, to help improve your mood and manage stress.
When I demoed the mirror, it asked me how my day was, and for testing purposes, I said it went terribly. Immediately, the mirror said encouraging words to me, switched the lights to a calming blue color, displayed an image of nature, and encouraged me to start a meditation session.
The mirror was even recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Award Honoree in the Smart Home category.
If you are a dog mom like me, you're probably always thinking of ways you could make your pet's quality of life better. Invoxia's Minitailz dog collar is a fitness tracker for your dog, and can help you better understand what they need.
The tracker detects a dog's GPS location to ensure your fur baby never gets lost, along with health stats, such as resting heart rate and breathing. The company claims that the collars can detect early signs of heart failure before the onset of symptoms. The collar also offers AI-driven activity detection with real-time alerts that can let the pet owner know exactly what their best friend is doing.
The Minitailz Smart Dog Collar was recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Award Honoree in the Artificial Intelligence category.
If you are interested, the Minitailz collar is available for $99. However, there is also a subscription fee of $25 a month or $275 a year.
Taking care of your yard can be a hassle, with the grass alone requiring cutting, fertilizing, and watering. The Yarbo multi-purpose yard robot system has a family of products designed to take care of nearly all your backyard tasks, including a snow blower, lawn mower, granular spreader, liquid spreader, and more.
Also: The best robot lawn mowers
The best part is that all the products work with the same power docking station, which provides a seamless experience. Many of the solutions are already available for purchase online, with newer models available for pre-order.
5. Wim
The Wim first caught my attention because I had never seen an apparatus like it. Upon learning more, I realized that the technology was as innovative as it looked. The product is meant to assist with walking and exercising in a safe and efficient manner by providing proper support.
Wim also includes personalized AI coaching that can help enhance your exercise experience by adjusting the intensity and timing, and providing customized programs. The insights can help with non-exercise coaching, such as improving walking performance. This information could be especially helpful for people recovering from injuries or for individuals with mobility challenges. When I tried the tech on, I was surprised to see how natural it felt and how unobstructed my walking was.
The product -- from South Korea's WIRobotics -- was recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Accessibility & Aging Tech, Robotics category.
Sales for the product will begin in February, and I was not informed about pricing.
6. Holobox
The Holobox makes hologram communication, which has typically been limited to sci-fi movies, a reality. The box resembles a telephone booth and can display a real-life hologram of the person you are talking to, as long as they are in front of a white, well-lit background. They can communicate with you in nearly no latency, and even if you aren't in front of a white background yourself, the other call participant can still see you via monitor, like a standard Zoom call instead of a hologram.
You can click here for a snippet of my experience, where I got to chat with the hologram of Holoconnects' CEO, Andre Smith.
Although the technology seems complicated, it is a 'plug and play' system, requiring only an outlet and the internet to function. The company also offers a desktop version, fittingly called the Holobox Mini. The website does not reveal the cost of its solutions, but interested customers can request a pricing list.
7. Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo robot + stick vacuum
One of the most popular and practical robots is the robot vacuum. But a popular complaint about the devices is that no matter how efficient they are, they can often miss certain corners or nooks of your living space. Ecovocs addresses that issue by including a stick vacuum with its robot vacuum.
Also: The best robot vacuums, mops, and mowers from CES 2024
The charging station for the actual robot vacuum holds a concealed stick vacuum, which you can assemble to form a Matter-certified wireless stick vacuum with 8000Pa of suction. Now, if your robot misses something, getting to it yourself is easier.
The vacuum will be available at the end of March for $1,599.
The PR person delivering the demonstration called this AI-powered manicure device "a Nespresso machine for manicures" -- and that title could not be more fitting. In the same way that a Nespresso machine can deliver barista-quality coffee to your home at the touch of a button, the Nimble Beauty device can act as an at-home nail salon. All you have to do is insert your hand and click a button, and the machine will do the rest using AI.
I demoed the technology, and was the manicure perfect? No. But was it better than when I painted my right hand with my non-dominant left hand? Absolutely. You can watch my experience here.
The best part, in my opinion, is the convenience of not having to leave the house to get your nails done or worry about booking an appointment. Another benefit is that it has a fan that dries your nails between coats, so you don't have to worry about smudging them.
The device was recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Home Appliances category.
The machine is available for preorder and costs $599 for the machine and $10 per nail polish capsule. Shipping begins in March.
9. Ballie
Ballie, the circular household assistant robot, isn't new to Samsung -- it first launched in 2020. However, at this year's CES, Samsung showcased a revamped Ballie with new capabilities and AI features. The robot can now do everything from projecting video to managing home appliances.
Having watched the Samsung demo in person, I must say that I am not only impressed, but would welcome the cute little basketball-looking robot into my home. Click here to view some snippets of Ballie's demo I got to see at CES. Ballie was recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Robotics category.
Samsung didn't disclose when it will be available or how much it will cost.
As soon as I saw a sign that said that this device could reduce stress, I had to stop by the booth. The device, which fits in the palm of your hand comfortably, can help you reduce stress and anxiety by coaching you to breathe properly.
The device expands in your hands when you are supposed to breathe in and contracts when you are supposed to breathe out. This breathing exercise helps you slow down your breathing and concentrate on the act, which should, in turn, balance your autonomic nervous system. The device also has a sensor where you place your thumb to monitor certain metrics such as heart rate.
The device is available for purchase in four colors for $199.
11. Anura MagicMirror
Although this looks like an ordinary tabletop mirror, the Anura MagicMirror can do more than just show your reflection. With a 30-second face scan, the mirror can gather your health data, such as heart rate and blood pressure. Click here to watch my experience.
I got to demo the technology at CES, and it's as easy and intuitive to use as it sounds. The mirror was recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Digital Health category.
Although it seems like a fun gadget to have in your home, the PR team informed me that the intended audience is B2B organizations, such as doctors' offices or gyms.
12. Nobi Smart Lamp
Nobi's smart lamps can ensure your older loved ones stay safe by doubling as fall detectors. The lamps use AI to detect when a person has fallen. After it detects the fall, it will notify designated emergency contacts, who can then talk to the fallen individual via the lamp, and even see the position the person is lying in.
At CES, the company announced the introduction into the US market, as well as the Nobi Ceiling, which is a ceiling version of its smart pendant lamp. From seeing it in person, I was amazed at how much like a regular lamp it looked.
If you have read any of my CES roundups, you probably picked up on the fact that I love dogs. The Ilume Dog Wellbeing Smart Suite is a device I am particularly excited about because it has the potential to improve the quality of dogs' lives significantly, and what could be better than that?
The Smart Tracker is placed on your dog's collar to track its behavior throughout the entire day. Then, based on your dog's activity levels and sleep, it lets you know the exact amount of food you should be feeding your dog for breakfast and dinner. The bowl has a button that will light up green when you have fed the proper amount or red when it's over or under, eliminating the need for measuring cups.
I personally have met so many overweight dogs who could lose some pounds, and this device eliminates the guesswork, helping the pet parents feed them the perfect amount of food and allowing them to get to an ideal lifestyle soon.
Although it just launched at CES, the Ilume Dog Wellbeing Smart Suite is available for purchase at $250, which includes the smart tracker, the hub, and the bowl.
14. Rabbit R1
If you have ever wanted an AI assistant that can just do things for you without the need for lengthy and detailed prompts, the Rabbit might be the device for you. The pocket-sized Rabbit leverages AI to act as a personal assistant that can use apps for you.
Also: This AI startup made a $199 gadget that replaces apps with 'rabbits' - and it might just work
Essentially, the R1 eliminates having to scramble to find the right app on your phone, and then follows through to complete the action you need. With the device, you can have some "rabbits" complete the task for you from start to finish, simply by telling it what end result you want done. Click here to watch ZDNET editor Kerry Wan's hands-on experience.
The device is $199 and is available for preorder.
The rise of generative AI has enabled the live translating device space to boom, and many of the tools were on display at CES. After my colleague and I stopped by the TimeKettle booth and demoed the Time Kettle X1 Interpreter Hub, I was so impressed that the device just had to make my list.
The device leverages AI to provide real-time translations for up to 40 languages. My colleague and I had a conversation from Spanish to Chinese in a very loud expo room, and the device had no problem picking up the audio and outputting accurate translations. It also showcased live transcription on the screen.
The device includes two earbuds, which can be shared between two users. Then, multiple X1 devices can sync, providing smooth interpretations for up to 20 people in five different languages, perfect for meeting rooms or multilingual classrooms. The product was recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Award Honoree in the Headphones & Personal Audio category.
It is available for purchase now for $699.99 and is expected to ship around January 31st.