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The Vert 2 activity tracker knows if you're making the effort
The original Vert was all about the jumping, and it was quite accurate measuring said jumping. The wearable is getting a 2016 refresh, with an expanded repertoire of metrics that not only includes the frequency of intense movements (sensors are accelerometers and gyros), but also the intensity of the movements themselves. It'll even distinguish between high and low intensity, giving you a total for both at the end. Surges of activity per minute is yet another metric on hand, and one that may prove useful as the company continues to get its wearable tech employed by the NCAA and ESPN for in-game analytics.
Build your own gesture-controlled robots with the Ziro kit
Forget controlling robots with clunky remotes -- ZeroUI wants you to start manipulating them with your hands. That's why it created the Ziro, a robotics kit that'll let you build your very own robot army -- or at least the beginnings of one -- and allow you to control it just by wiggling your fingers. The starter kit contains four wireless motorized modules, a remote-control glove, a charging station, basic building materials and a mobile configuration app for Android and iOS. It also includes a few simple model designs in the box, though it encourages you to be creative and make your own crazy creations instead.
In & Motion's Ski Airbags aim to save your spine
If there's one thing that terrifies a downhill skier, it's probably the risk of making an awkward landing on rock-solid ice. That's the issue that French company In & Motion is looking to solve with the Ski Airbag Vest. It's essentially a wearable airbag that'll inflate to prevent people from denting their organs should things go wrong. It's here at CES that the firm is showing off the technology for the first time, and if you're in the skiing fraternity, it might just be the gadget to save your life.
Sleepion will stimulate your senses to put you to sleep
We're not sleeping well. Off-late there's been an onslaught of sleep-guaranteeing tech including apps and beds that can prep your mind and body for the deepest slumber. Cheero, a California-based company known for its power packed external batteries, has come up with Sleepion, a three-in-one solution for people with sleep disorders. They've designed a crescent-shaped speaker system that has an in-built natural light and aroma emitting ceramic disc to stimulate your senses to help put you sleep quicker and better. It comes with 16 preset white noise options including streams, rain, wind and more that are proven to prep your mind for deep sleep. According to Cheero, 45-minutes is the optimum sound cycle so each track is programmed to switch off at the end of that time frame.
Your couch can become a VR thrill ride with Immersit
I've tried virtual reality demos a few times and there's always just a little something missing. Whenever the VR camera moves through an environment, I know my body isn't actually moving, and it breaks the immersion. To fix that, Immersit's device props your couch up on four motors to move back/forward, up/down and side-to-side (or any combination of those). Tonight I gave it a quick demo while wearing a VR headset playing 360-degree video filmed from the perspective of a rally car to see how well that works. While it didn't have as much bounce as your average low-rider, its movements were enough to help trick my inner ear into thinking I might actually be on a WRC course instead of the CES Unveiled show floor.
Belty the self-adjusting belt just got a smarter, classier sequel
One of many odd things to come out of CES 2015 was Belty: a self-adjusting belt that would literally cut you some slack if you enjoyed your dinner a little too much. As mentioned last week, following the exposure at CES, the company behind it, Emotia, decided a redesign sequel was in order. After the heavy, thick (but coolly industrial-looking) prototype, the new "Good Vibes" (or GV) model is slimmer, lighter and looks, well, more like a dress belt you'd actually see on sale in a clothes store. And it's not just a pretty (leathery) face.
Sphero's Force Band will let you control BB-8 with gestures
Sphero's smartphone-controlled BB-8 droid (from the new Star Wars film, of course) is one of the cooler toys we've seen. The company's looking to add an extra level of interactivity to the droid by means of a wristband that'll let you roll it around with gestures. The so-called Force Band will be sold separately so that existing BB-8 owners can add gesture controls to their droid when it comes out in the fall of this year.
Alarm.com adds Apple TV and Amazon Echo support
Alarm.com announced on Monday that its turnkey security suite now works with both the Apple TV and the Amazon Echo. The Apple TV integration will allow users to remotely access video feeds from alarm.com-compatible cameras directly through the company's on-screen app. Users will also be able to control the camera's pan and tilt functions with their Siri remote in addition to the being able to do so on their AppleWatch or mobile device. Folks who aren't part of the Apple ecosystem aren't completely out of luck, mind you. Those who own an Amazon Echo can now interact with their security system through the device – well, at least, they'll be able to interact with their lights and thermostat.
Lenovo says the Yoga 900s is the world's thinnest convertible
It's that time of year again: Lenovo whips out some impossibly thin and light laptop. Last CES it was a 1.7-pound notebook, and this year it's the Yoga 900s, a half-inch-thick, 2.2-pound machine that Lenovo claims is the world's thinnest convertible laptop. Indeed, I had a chance to handle it in person and it really is absurdly, impressively thin and light. (I know, we always say that. But still.) Before you get too excited, though, it appears that the 12-inch Yoga 900s is the spiritual successor to a machine that ... we didn't like very much. That would be last year's Yoga 3 Pro, a super-slim model that ultimately got a lukewarm review on account of its sluggish performance and mediocre battery life.
Lenovo has a desktop with a built-in projector
Well, this is a little weird. In addition to the usual parade of laptops, Lenovo today unveiled an odd little desktop at CES: a miniature PC with an optional projector. It's called the Ideacentre 610s, and it's basically your typical home-theater PC on steroids. On the inside, it runs an Intel Core i7 processor, a 2GB NVIDIA GTX 750ti GPU and up to 16GB of RAM, meaning you shouldn't have a problem streaming 4K video or the odd game.
Lenovo Y900 'Razer Edition' gaming desktop to launch in June
Project Christine, Razer's boldly designed modular gaming PC, still hasn't surfaced as a commercial product -- but that doesn't mean you can't get a Razer-branded gaming desktop. Lenovo just announced that its Ideacenter Y900 gaming rig will be getting its Razer makeover this summer, equipping it with revised case lighting, a mouse and a keyboard that all work on Razer's Chroma system.
Lenovo's new gaming laptop has one-touch overclocking
Lenovo announced the release of a new 17-inch gaming laptop on Monday, dubbed the Y900. It's part of the Y Series of gaming devices and features some impressive specs. It boasts a quad core 6th Gen Intel Core i7, an NVIDIA GTX 980M graphics card and a mechanical keyboard. What's more, the Y900 will reportedly include a One Touch Turbo button that further boosts the laptop's performance. It will retail for $2,000 when it debuts in June.
Linksys adds two multi-stream MU-MIMO routers to its lineup
It's router season here at CES 2016, and Linksys has dropped two new MU-MIMO (multiuser, multiple input, multiple output) network gatekeepers. They take their place above and below the current AC2600 router in the company's lineup. If you're interested in these routers but your computer doesn't MU-MIMO, the company also announced a USB dongle that'll make it compatible.
Zepp wants rackets and bats to pack integrated sensors
Now that any athlete (or wannabe) can measure their baseball, tennis and golf swings with standalone sensors, Zepp figures that the next step is putting them directly into the sports equipment. The company announced that it's working with several equipment manufacturers to integrate its sensor and cloud tech directly into baseball bats, tennis and badminton rackets, cricket bats, glove gloves and other products. It also wants to partner with companies and sports' governing bodies to develop open-source sensor standards for both professional and amateur athletes.
Sleep Number's new bed will train you to sleep better
We've already heard of Sleep Number's smart SleepIQ beds, but now the company is taking the whole intelligent mattress thing to the next level. At CES 2016, it's introducing something called the "It" bed which promises to quantify your sleep, connect to other health and fitness apps, offer suggestions on how to have a better night's sleep and also, of course, adjust its firmness level for your comfort.
Griffin's Travel Power Bank is a keychain-sized Apple Watch charger
Until we have more efficient battery technology, it seems we're resigned to carrying extra battery packs around to keep our power-hungry devices running on busy days and nights. Griffin has taken this sad state of affairs to its logical conclusion with its new "Travel Power Bank" for the Apple Watch. For most people, the Watch's day-long battery is sufficient, though you'll definitely need to charge it nightly. But if you're particularly busy or away from power for extended periods of time, the tiny Travel Power Bank can use its 800 mAh battery to charge your Apple Watch up to four times before it need to be refilled.
Muzik's smart headphones share your tunes on Twitter
Just about every streaming music app has an option to share whatever you're listening to. However, using that feature on your phone can be a pain -- by the time you've reached into your pocket and crafted that social post, the moment might already be over. Muzik thinks it can help. For a while now, it's been developing smart headphones whose smart keys let you perform numerous tasks just by tapping keys on an ear cup, including sharing to social networks. If you just had a musical epiphany, you can let the world know on Twitter or Facebook. In fact, Twitter loves it so much that it decided to make the company its first ever hardware investment.
Volvo is making a media streaming system for autonomous cars
We've all thought the exact same thing: when self-driving cars hit the mainstream, I'll be able to catch up on Game of Thrones during my commute. In reality, however, lawmakers are preparing to make sure your full attention is on the road even when you're not driving. Still, it's a good dream -- and Volvo and Ericsson are working on a streaming platform designed specifically for autonomous vehicles.
Engadget is live from CES 2016!
As much as we may have wanted to spend the week after New Year's recovering from our bacchanalian excesses on the holiday, there is work to be done. The Engadget team has assembled in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show 2016, the biggest event in the technology world's annual calendar. The show may not be as hot-to-trot as it has been in previous years, but it'll still turn up something worth checking out. For instance, it could reveal a new fork that teaches you to eat slower, or a device that'll revolutionize the way you watch tv. Alternatively, it could show us a lamp that looks like a disembodied hand grabbing a plastic bag full of lightbulbs, because that's a thing. We don't yet know what this year's show will bring, but the only way that any of us will know is if you keep your eyeballs pointed straight at this very website.
Faraday Future's insane 1,000-horsepower concept car leaks
Ahead of tonight's unveil of its concept car, it looks like Faraday Future accidentally leaked details of its concept vehicle via its app. The app showed up prematurely in the App Store. The company has been talking about how it aims to "redefine our relationship with the automobile." Right now it looks like that change resembles hitting the road with over 1000 horsepower and a zero to 60 of less than three seconds and top speed of over 200 miles per hour.
