CES 2016: The ten strangest gadgets

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HairMax LaserBand

Designed by Pininfarina, the HairMax LaserBand is a headset that cultivates hair growth. The device pulses 82 lasers in intervals of 90 second to increase blood flow to the scalp and reduce thinning of the hair. In some cases, the makers say, it will even encourage hair to thicken. The band is not the only laser-based hair growth product on show this year. Zoe Kleinman of the BBC tried out the iGrow, a similar product which "resembles a bicycle helmet", she says, in comparison to the sleeker design of the LaserBand.

Yum & Done

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"If CES has taught us anything, it's that everything has to be smart," says the Daily Telegraph about a product which boasts a smart spoon. Yum & Done is a range of "interactive meal buddies" designed to distract fussy eater toddlers. A Bluetooth button on the spoon activates a smartphone or tablet app on which is a cuddly toy cover that interacts with the spoon and distracts the child from their vegetables.

Ninebot Segway

There was nothing at the Intel conference "more visually strange than a Segway that managed to transform into a self-navigating robot", according to The Next Web. The Ninebot Segway is smaller than more conventional self-balancing transporters but for a party piece, it transforms into a robot with camera eyes and moveable arms. The robot is self-navigating, can be spoken to and can take instructions.

Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator

A fridge with a 21.5-inch high-definition touchscreen on one of the doors. It's ideal for those who really need an Instagram-equipped fridge in their lives, says Tech Hive, but there are some practicalities. The screen can be used to order groceries online as well as acting as - as the name suggests - a family hub where people can leave messages and notes. It can also play music and TV, let you see inside the fridge without opening it and send a picture of the contents to a smartphone so you can see what you need if you lose your shopping list.

SCiO food sensor

The SCiO from French company DietSensor is a pocket-sized scanner that can be linked to a smartphone via Bluetooth. It scans food to reveal its nutritional information. Although it can only read simple products such as cheese and bread, Mashable describes the SCiO as a "dream tool for dieters", despite it being aimed at helping people with conditions such as diabetes.

BB8 Force Band

Sphero's BB8 toy was one of the most popular gadgets this Christmas and now the popular Star Wars droid can be controlled with the Force Band. The device will let you push and pull BB8 around and also includes gestures to control the robot's head. IGN says that the gadget is only a prototype right now, although the actual version that will go on sale will have the same functionality.

LG's 98inch 8K TV

"It wouldn't be the Consumer Electronics Show unless a tech company showed up to Las Vegas with a stupid large television," says The Verge. This year, LG revealed the UG9800, a 98-inch television with an 8K display. It has moving speakers for "impactful" audio, too. Although televisions aren't strange devices, the extravagance of the UG9800 makes it one of the more eye-catching objects at this year's show - and possibly one of the most expensive. There's no price, but Sharp's 8K television in 2015 had a price tag of $133,000 (£91,000).

Bixi Gesture control

Bixi is a small device not too dissimilar to a hockey puck, says Digital Trends, but housed within it are optical sensors which can track your fingers so smartphone apps become touch-free and gesture-based. It's meant to compliment current touchscreen items rather than replace them, but there's an impressive array of apps and functions with which it is already compatible.

3D printer pen

XYZprinting's drawing pen uses a melted, corn-based plastic material which is pushed through and out of the pen before cooling to allow the user to draw 3D objects out of nothing. It can also be used to repair 3D-printed items.

Digitsole Shoes

Smart shoes which can be linked to an app. The shoes can be heated and can reel off statistics such as distances and calories burned. They also tie themselves up. "If you have always wanted a pair of Marty McFly's self-lacing sneakers, the wait is almost over," says the Daily Mail. The battery lasts 18 hours and is charged via USB.