Every year, the Consumer Technology Association uses the CES conference to honor unique products and companies that are doing things a bit differently. It calls them the Innovation Awards, and there’s plenty of honorees every year. This year there is a whopping 28 products on the “Best Of” list, and rather than bore you with press release jargon about “disruption” and “paradigm shifts,” I’d rather just sum each product up in a single sentence, so let’s get to it.
Aipoly Vision – AI that tells blind people what they’re pointing their phone camera at.
Cota Tile – Ceiling tiles that can wirelessly charge electronics within 30 feet of them.
Cubit – An app-connected tool that measures and stores dimensions so DIYers can spend less time with plotting and planning and more time actually doing stuff.
EyeQue – A vision testing tool that wants to save you from having to go to the eye doctor by doing the tests at home.
LINK AKC Smart Dog Collar – A wearable for your dog that tracks activity levels and temperature to give owners a complete picture of their pet’s health and happiness.
Goodix Fingerprint Detection Sensor – Biometric finger unlocks for your phone, again.
HP Spectre 13 – A ridiculously thin notebook with good battery life and an eye-catching design.
Bosch Integrated Connectivity Cluster – A smart mini HUD for motorcycle riders.
K’Track G – Painless, blood-free blood glucose monitoring in real time for diabetics.
Lenovo Phab 2 Pro – An augmented reality smartphone.
Lenovo Yoga Book – A notebook/tablet hybrid that wears many hats.
Mars by CrazyBaby – A floating speaker with a charging base that looks like a Mac Pro.
Motiv Ring – An activity tracker for your finger.
Moto Mods – Slide-in accessories for the Moto Z smartphone that give it additional functionality, like a huge camera or video projector.
Nemonic – A workplace organizer.
Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000 – A quad-core smart router built with 4K and VR in mind, and it looks like it would be painful to step on.
Obsidian 3D Camera – A 360-degree camera for shooting environments which can then be revisited in virtual reality.
Ossic X – Smart headphones that provide 3D positional sound.
Paradigm Persona 9H – High-end speakers that could be mistaken for air purifiers.
Powerup FPV – Little gadgets that turn paper airplanes into drones and send the video to a Cardboard VR headset.
Acer Predator z301CT – A 21:9 curved HD computer monitor with built-in eye-tracking.
ReSound ENZO2 – Smart hearing aids that connect to an iPhone.
Robo R2 – A Wi-Fi enabled 3D printer.
Quanergy Systems S3 Solid State LiDAR Sensor – A sensor for autonomous cars that can track objects so you don’t run people over.
Samsung Frame – A video display that could be mistaken for a picture frame, but that’s the entire point.
Sleep Number 360 – A bed that connects to your iPhone, because you know you’ve always wanted that.
Sevenhugs Smart Remote – A touchscreen contextual remote that can control pretty much everything in your home.
SVS SB16-Ultra Subwoofer – It’s loud.
Swiftpoint Z Gaming Mouse – A gaming mouse packed with customizable bits and lots of buttons.
Tilt Brush – A 3D VR painting and drawing app made by Google.
Tobii Dynavox PCEye Mini w/ iS4 Eye Tracker – An eye-tracking system that lets individuals without use of their hands navigate and enjoy a computer just like everyone else.
uBolt – A smart ID bracelet that verifies the identity of the wearer.
XGIMI Z4 Aurora Screenless TV – A projector that shoots a 300-inch screen at whatever you point it at, with built-in Harman Kardon speakers.
Xooloo Digital Coach – An app that keeps track of everything your kids are doing, watching, and saying.
Zera Food Recycler – Turns thrown out food into fertilizer, and also looks kind of like an old Xbox 360.
