The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opened its doors Tuesday, with tech companies from giants to tiny startups showing off their latest products and services. Organizers expect more than 180,000 people from about 150 countries to attend the four-day show in Las Vegas.
Here are some gadgets causing a splash:
Samsung is unveiling a robot that keeps an eye on grandma and grandpa. The rolling robot, called “Bot Care,” talks and has two digital eyes on a black screen. It can track medicines, measure blood pressure, and call 911 if it detects a fall. Samsung didn’t say when Bot Care would be available but did announce it is working on a robot for stores and another for testing and purifying the air in homes.
Samsung also revealed bigger (and pricier!) TVs, appliances, and other high-tech gizmos—but not the foldable phone it hinted at in November.
But guess what? A startup called Royole filled the flex-phone void. The Royole FlexPai smartphone can be folded like a wallet and will cost more than $1,300.
Google’s booth may be the most fun. The tech company’s area features an amusement park ride that resembles Disney’s “It’s a Small World”—but on a slow, roller-coaster-like train. Talking and singing characters showcase new features of Google’s voice-enabled digital assistant. Those features include an “interpreter mode” that enables some of Google’s smart devices to translate from one language to another.
Google isn’t the only CES exhibitor promising instant translation. Chinese firm iFlytek is peddling its translation apps and devices, which are already popular among Chinese travelers. And at least two startups, New York-based Waverly Labs and China-based TimeKettle, are promoting earbuds that work as in-ear translation devices. So someone can speak to you in one language, but through the earbud, you'll hear whatever language you select.
Pretty cool stuff. Which gadget interests you the most?
(The Google Assistant ride shows off the new features in its voice-enabled digital assistant as visitors ride along at the Google display area at CES. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
