Sifting through thousands of demos at CES 2011 and narrowing down to a few is a very demanding and subjective choice. Nevertheless, Business Standard has picked a few that may be of interest to gizmo geeks.
Car for a mouse
Road Mice has designed the computer mouse as a car. You can now have a Ford, Dodge, Jaguar, Lamborghini, isan, Camaro or Chrysler as a wireless mouse to work on your personal computer. To be in the driver’s seat, though, you have to shell out between $40 and $60.
Helmets that talk
Companies like UClear are bringing the patented Advance Digital Signal Processing technology of military and industrial applications to the home consumer scene. Ranging between $100 and $200, these ‘helmet communicators’ enable users make mobile calls; listen to and wirelessly control music; pickup calls with voice commands; make auto-touch adjustments; helmet to helmet intercom; use GPS navigation; and support a walkie-talkie interface (requires an adapter).
Fishing for jobs on TV
Gulpfish helps users search for jobs or seek employees not only on the internet and phones but also on internet-enabled TVs. With the Samsung internet-enabled TV and iPhones, for instance, the online site allows full and free access to their online accounts. The company uses an app to allow access to its database which comprises around 2,000 jobseekers and around 180 employers till date.
Basking in the Sun
Companies like Voltaic displayed solar chargers for bags besides those which could stash and charge your smarphone, e-book reader or camera in a travel bag. The chargers can also be custom-fit in backpacks and messenger bags. The devices cost anywhere upwards of $85 to $250. Companies like Bambook also displayed chargers for ebook readers.
Robots to the aid
Ecovacs touts itself as an ‘Intelligent cleaning appliance expert’. It claims that Deebot is the first robot vacuum cleaner in the world, which can sing and dance too. The products are priced between $100-150 and primarily sell in the European markets besides a smaller presence in countries like Malaysia and Hong Kong. The company is looking at spreading to markets like India too. The Deebot A 330 is also an “intelligent mobile air purifier”. MamRobot has similar offerings with robots that can clean carpets, corners and even computers, furnitures and frames.
Windoro (iwindoro) also has a window-cleaning robot. Windoro sets the length of the working path at 1 metre for cleaning “efficiently”. The robot recognises the initial spot where the cleaning began. To reduce power consumption, a timed power-off function is set. It uses permanent magnets to stay safe on the window even after it turns off.
In view of Japanese children’s declining interest in science, Murata has been using the MURATA BOY to actively create educational opportunities at schools to demonstrate just how much fun science can be. The company showcased the unicycle-riding robot “MURATA GIRL” too.
