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George Hotz wants Comma AI to be the Android of autonomous driving
Hacker, entrepreneur, rabble rouser and freeform rapper George Hotz joined us on the Engadget stage at CES to talk about the decision to open-source his autonomous car research and the state of self driving. He also weighed in on California's regulatory system (he's not a fan) and how he's excited about the future of augmented reality.
David Copperfield: 'I come to CES to get inspired'
CES is many things to many people. For the most part, it's the grease that keeps the mechanics of technology running for the rest of the year. For some, though, it's a veritable treasure trove of potential magic. Literally. David Copperfield, a stalwart on the Las Vegas strip and legendary magician isn't just a fan of the show; he walks the floor every year looking for technology he can use in his illusions. Naturally, he wouldn't tell us exactly what he's incorporated into his act, but we bet it's more magical than a voice-activated trash can.
Volkswagen is adding Amazon Alexa to its cars
Ford isn't the only auto company adding Amazon's Alexa to its cars -- Volkswagen plans to do the same. From the quick demo I had on the CES show floor, it seems like a pretty smart pairing. VW's Alexa-enabled cars will basically have full access to everything the Echo can do, but the company built its own skill to enable a handful of car-centric features.
BlackBerry's 'Mercury' prototype makes a cameo on our CES stage
We knew a new BlackBerry was coming, and we were even pretty sure it would have one of those classic physical keyboards. Sure enough, when official word of the BlackBerry "Mercury" prototype dropped during the show, people nostalgic for the smartphone company's golden years swooned. But how did this happen? What did TCL, the company now in charge of making BlackBerry hardware, get right? And more importantly, when will TCL and BlackBerry let slip all of the really juicy details? Jason Gerdon, senior manager of communications for TCL America, joined us on the Engadget CES stage to take us through it all, and we've put together a quick little primer to sum up what we've learned.
The best coffee table of CES
After weeks of trials and tribulations, I'm excited to announce Engadget's Best of CES winner in the hotly contested coffee table category: Retrobit's Mega Table. Okay, so I've only seen one coffee table at CES, and I'm also not in charge of our awards. But the Mega Table is pretty great anyway. It's a wooden coffee table with a giant wooden d-pad and action buttons, that can be used to control all manner of games consoles. The device here is just a prototype, but Retrobit is planning on heading to a crowdfunding site to make it a reality. At an estimated $500, it's not exactly an impulse buy, but I've bought more expensive coffee tables in my time, and its dual-purpose design might make it an interesting conversation piece for your games room.
3D-printed ceramics and metals might finally arrive this year
Remember 3D printing? A couple years ago it was hotly tipped to revolutionize manufacturing, since you could have a whole factory in your home! Except, really, it wouldn't, because spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a box to make cute plastic doodads wasn't really what most folks wanted. A few years later, having a 3D printer at home is still generally unnecessary, but that may change, and soon. Ish.
Watch HTC Vive's wireless VR adapter and object tracker in action
Virtual reality has plenty of hurdles to surpass before it reaches mainstream acceptance, among them is the need to be tethered to a computer for high-quality VR. So it's no surprise that wireless VR tracking is a big focus for the HTC Vive this year. And on top of that, the Vive Tracker will also let developers easily bring just about anything into VR worlds. We had a chance to test out both new devices at CES this year, and while they're in fairly early stages, it's clear they'll fundamentally change the VR landscape this year.
Tell this robot to graffiti a wall for you
We've seen our fair share of weird things at CES this week, but there was one thing outside the Las Vegas Convention Center that surprised even us Engadget editors. As we were walking toward the building, we came across an unattended (and seemingly unnamed) robot that takes voice commands to show off its spray painting skills. While it's obviously no Banksy, it's yet another example of how Bluetooth devices are being used to control stuff around you. Sure, this isn't the most practical use for voice commands, but you can't deny how neat the project is.
My quest to find the perfect rideable at CES
Electric vehicles are a huge part of CES this year. From the Honda NueV to the Faraday Future FF91, everyone's attention is laser-focused on gas-guzzler replacements. Although these are exciting, for me they pale in comparison to another smaller form of transportation: rideables. Spanning skateboards, scooters and bikes, these little machines are perfect for a city-dweller such as myself. With a camera in hand, I've been scouring the show trying to find the very best. My mission: Find my dream rideable.
ICYMI: The Sleep Number bed keeps you cozy all night long
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: There were more beds at CES this year than we've ever seen before, but I was seduced, yet again, by the new model for the Sleep Number bed. Even though I'm a bit of an everything-connected-to-the-internet hater. Last year's Sleep Number model introduced a plethora of sleep-tracking sensors, integrated inside the mattress. But the 2017, Sleep Number 360 version kicks it all up a notch. It can use that data to adjust the firmness of the bed as you turn during the night, as well as pre-heat the foot bed warmer just before your usual bedtime. Probably best of all for couples: It raises the side of an offending nighttime snorer and ends the noise, no elbows required. The bed will run $1099 and start rolling out in the spring. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd. And click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.
Hushme's voice-masking headset could save your sanity
This device is not for punishment, nor was it designed to deny you pleasure. It is, however, meant to preserve the quality of life of the people around you... especially if you work in open offices like some of us at Engadget do. The Hushme works as a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, but the real draw is the voice mask attached to them -- they snap together in front of your mouth thanks to some surprisingly strong magnets, allowing you to take your phone calls in relative peace and quiet.
Microsoft's connected car platform will put Cortana on the road
Microsoft's next big push into the automotive space won't be a Redmond-made self-driving car. Instead, the company hopes to provide the backbone for a whole suite of cloud-based services that automakers can use to enhance the driving experience in their own connected vehicles. In an announcement at CES on Friday, the company unveiled the Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform to handle everything from predictive maintenance to "in-car productivity" and advanced navigation.
Dr. Samsung tried to fix my face
No, I'm not holding a phone. The thing I'm holding in my hand above is analyzing my skin for its hydration levels, redness and melanin. Even better, it's going to try and fix any issues with a combination of light therapy and "micro-needle" patches filled with skin goodness. Make me beautiful, Samsung.
Watch NVIDIA's GeForce stream 'Mass Effect Andromeda' to Facebook
Game streaming is about to get a lot simpler for NVIDIA GeForce video card owners with the company's new integration with Facebook Live. We got a chance to see the feature in action at CES, and it works as advertised. NVIDIA reps were able to quickly shoot some footage from the much-anticipated Mass Effect Andromeda right to their Facebook timelines from their GeForce Experience app.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 22: Filmore Jive
Senior editor Aaron Souppouris, senior HD editor Richard Lawler and senior editor Mat Smith join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about the tech announcements at CES that will shape 2017. Just like every year, it's a big TV show. LG, Samsung, Sony and plenty others came with their biggest and brightest sets. But it was LG that stole Lawler's heart with its crazy thin W-series OLEDs. The group also chats about how OLEDs are quickly becoming cheaper and more readily available.
Sennheiser's wireless headphones give Bose some competition
When it comes to noise-cancelling headphones, Bose is widely regarded as best in class, with its QuietComfort 35s doing a stellar job at blocking out unwanted distractions. Here at CES, Sennheiser has its own wireless model with active noise cancellation: the HD 4.50BTNC. Naturally we wanted to see how the headphones held up in the chaos of a trade show booth. Spoiler alert: Bose may have some competition on its hands.
Casio's new smartwatch is a chunky beast made for the outdoors
Android Wear 2.0 was supposed to arrive a long time ago, but we've just gotten our first look at it in the wild thanks to Casio's just-announced WSD-F20 smartwatch. Well, almost: The watches on display at CES were working, but only running demo software. But we were able to swipe around the watch's interface, with all the expected tweaks that Wear 2.0 provides (even that ridiculously tiny keyboard) seemingly in tact.
The Smartcane alerts your family in case of a fall
Against the backdrop of flashy TV screens and futuristic cars, it's hard for a company to make an impression with a smart walking stick. But the Dring Smartcane, from French startup Nov'in, made its mark at CES this year. The company wants to bring the centuries-old mobility tool into the digital age with motion sensors. Geared toward the elderly and people with low mobility, the cane has a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope to track the user's movements.
LG put Alexa in a refrigerator and it seems like a great idea
Alongside a load of new TVs, you can count on all the big tech companies to roll out new smart appliances every year at CES. LG is no exception, adding Amazon's Alexa to its line of Smart InstaView refrigerators. We've seen previous versions of the fridge with huge touchscreens in the door, but this time around the company has tacked on a virtual assistant and webOS software in the US. For the global model, expect Windows 10 integration and access to Cortana for spoken assistance.
NVIDIA's GeForce Now let me play 'The Witcher 3' on a MacBook Air
Apple's MacBook Air is known for being sleek and portable -- but not so much for being a hardware powerhouse. Even the latest Air still relies on weak integrated graphics, so it's not exactly the sort of machine you'd expect to run a modern title like The Witcher 3. And yet, that's exactly what I managed to do with NVIDIA's GeForce Now, its game streaming service (recently expanded from the Shield devices) that lets you rent a virtual gaming PC in the cloud.
