The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off in Las Vegas this week with thousands of new gadgets expected to be revealed. Wearable technology, smart homes and ever-enhanced television screens continue to dominate the world's latest inventions. Here are just five of the most talked-about gadgets expected to be unveiled this week:
Smart lamp to detect intruders
The Sengled Snap lamp not only has a 25,000-hour LED bulb that can be controlled remotely, it also has a host of security features including a wireless camera, speaker and microphone. It allows you to see who is walking up to your front door via a live feed on your phone and also offers facial recognition software to notify you if someone you know comes knocking. The bulb has a built-in wifi signal repeater too, so it can strengthen your wireless signal in weaker spots around the house.
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Coffee made from your bed
Smarter's wifi-enabled kettle is already available in shops, allowing you to remotely boil water using an app on your smartphone. But the British company has now created a wifi-enabled coffee machine that means you can make a cup of coffee from your bed or on your way home. Previous wifi-connected coffee makers tend to brew whole pots, says Jon Fingas at Engadget, but Smarter's new WiFi Coffee Machine allows you to make just one cup and also includes a built-in grinder.
Smartwatch-controlled car
A new and improved smart Ring enables you to assign tasks on your phone and smart home gadgets using up to 23 different hand gestures, such as turning off the lights with a waggle of your finger. But if that's not enough for wearable technology innovations, BMW is showing off its smartwatch-controlled car. The sensor-filled i3 can essentially self-park when the driver uses a smartwatch to activate the "Remote Valet Parking Assistant" function.
3D food printer
XYZPrinting demonstrated its food printer yesterday at CES and CNET editor Dong Ngo says it was "delicious". It is a 3D printer that uses ingredients instead of plastic to create uncooked food. It can make cookies or decorations for cakes, although the items still need to be baked once they are printed. Users can input designs via USB or select one from the company's catalogue. "During the demo, the machine printed a variety of decorations on bread and each took just a few minutes to finish," says Ngo. "I also tried the 3D-printed cookies (already baked) and they were better than those I made myself."
Expanding and retracting belt
French company Emiota have developed Belty (pictured above), a "smart belt" that tracks your waistline, keeps tabs on your exercise regime and suggests you take a walk if you are sitting down too much. Tiny motors allow it to automatically expand and retract to find your optimal belt size. "It's hard to tell if a smart belt is a perfectly reasonable idea or a completely ridiculous one," says Adi Robertson at The Verge. "On the one hand, belts are common, unobtrusive, and rest in intimate proximity to some of your most vital organs. On the other, it's a belt. And that very unobtrusiveness is an invitation to make things big, weird, and gaudy."
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