CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, is a convention held at the beginning of every year and is a place where companies can show off the technology that they have created to the rest of the world. This year, only a few companies came out with innovative products, while the rest just released new iterations of previous products.
One of the most dazzling products showcased here was created by L’Oreal. They developed a tiny, wearable device that monitors the wearer’s UV exposure. The small device can fit on a fingernail and can be decorated and painted over. It contains a small UV sensor and an NFC tag to transfer the data to a phone. The wearable is about two millimeters thick and has a diameter of nine millimeters. It’s miniscule design allows for it to be placed virtually anywhere that is exposed to sunlight. The sensor can sync the data to the complementary Android and IOS app, where it helps users maintain healthier UV exposure habits. Another new product that came out of CES is the Lenovo Smart Display. The Lenovo Smart Display resembles a tablet, but it is closer to the Amazon Echo and Google Home. It is, however, powered by Google Assistant, and it has a few advantages over its competitors. For example, it is able to play YouTube videos, unlike the Echo, Dot, and Home, and it has a larger screen and sleeker design that easily fits in any home. Another big concept revealed at CES is the Honda 3E robots. These robots are a series of AI vehicles that can assess and travel over rough terrains to rescue people, especially in situations deemed too risky for search and rescue teams. As it is the nature of AI, these vehicles will be constantly learning, so they will become more helpful and sympathetic as they are used more and more. The series ranges from a simple, in-home robot to a more rugged ATV for situations in the wilderness. Aflac is working on a duck. The insurance company is developing a toy duck for kids struggling with cancer. The duck has been designed with various touch sensors and several RFID tags so that it can reciprocate the children’s feelings. For example, if the child is happy, waving the emoji RFID tag over the duck’s chest will result in the duck responding with a quack. Aflac hopes to distribute these free of charge once testing is completed in the coming months. A few more pieces of technology that have just been upgraded are the laptops. Lenovo unveiled their new X1 Carbon and Yoga, which feature impressive 4k, full Dolby HDR displays and the latest eighth generation Intel processors.

Another example is the new Acer Swift 7, which boasts being the thinnest laptop available on the market. At a mere eight and eight-tenths of a millimeter thick, its sleek aluminum chassis could tempt anyone. Though it only has the seventh generation Intel processors, those looking for a thin, 4G-connected laptop may want to consider the Acer Swift 7. Although this year’s CES was mainly a showcase of upgraded, existing products, many of them boast impressive features. Hopefully, we’ll see these features in other laptops that will be released later this year.