Consumer Electronics Show Gives A Glimpse into the Future

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is underway, and as always, the new gadgets on display is giving us a fun look into the future.

Here's a quick rundown on what was on display:

Electric Skateboards: The original boards were heavy, and limited.  Now, the device can ride for 16-24 miles at 20 miles per hour, and charges in just 90 minutes.

Depth Sensing Tablet: Dell's new Venue 8 7000 series is the first slate on the market to feature Intel's RealSense camera system, which creates an active depth sensor.  This means the tablet can independently manipulate different portions of the photo based on distance from the photographer, making it sort of like a Lytro camera in your tablet. Eventually, it will be able to measure the distance between objects in a photo too.

Virtual Reality Headsets: VR headsets have been gaining in popularity, with prototypes emerging across the board.  At the CES, an open-source one was introduced.  A game console was also introduced with the headset.

Free Form Displays for Cars: The potential was introduced, though screens in any form for cars will probably not be readily available until 2017.  Nintendo is currently looking into using free form displays.

Action sports drone: Drones have many applications and vast potential.  The AirDog uses a combination of GPS, sonar, accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors to follow a subject wearing a companion beacon - perfect for great camera shots without the need for a pilot and cameraman.

Drones with spatial awareness: Intel's RealSense camera gives a drone a sense of what's around it, doing things such as allowing a RealSense-equipped drone to actively avoid people as they approached it.

Color Changing Walls: Digital paper E-Ink calls Prism -- a color e-paper technology designed to allow buildings and walls to subtly change colors and patterns. The large panels could be integrated into construction or art projects and, like all e-paper, require very little power to use.

Button Sized Computer: Imagine a device you can wear that is the size of a button.  Intel's Curie is a Quark-based computer with a Bluetooth Low Energy radio, a six-axis sensor with an accelerometer and gyroscope and 384kB of flash memory. On its own, it isn't much -- but Intel says it will help "fashion, sports and lifestyle companies incorporate advanced functionality into their wearable designs and help speed time-to-market."

Remote Lasers: While you are away from home you can watch TV, check the locks, and now you can shoot lasers at your pets. . . just for fun.

Small Laptop, Long Battery Life: The problem with small laptops is that they are so small they can be hard to work with.  A new Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook might be the smallest 13-inch laptop out there, at 2.6-pounds, and incredibly thin - with a rated 15-hour battery life and a attractive $800 starting price.

Smart Grill: The grill does the cooking without you thinking.  There's a grill that can make up for your culinary shortcomings: The Lynx Smart Grill. Simply tell the grill what you're trying to cook; turn on the heat; and follow the machine's audiovisual cues to walk away with the perfect steak. You can even sync it to an Android or iOS app for more detailed instructions.

A kid's bed that has everything. . . including a monster detector: The Sleep Number SleepIQ Kids bed does a lot: It can tell you if your little tyke gets up at night; it can adjust the mattress to suit their sleeping needs -- it even has a built-in under-bed nightlight... but these features pale in comparison to the smart bed's killer feature. This bed has a built-in monster detector, forever answering your child's fearful question with a satisfying, resounding, "No."

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CES Round Up, Day One - engadget