It’s that time of year again, when happy techies trek to Las Vegas to get a gander at the latest whiz-bangs and whoo-yah gadgets that the tech world has to offer. The International Consumer Electronics Show for 2015 is up and running (it lasts until Jan. 9) and people everywhere are already leering at, laughing about and lusting over the newest innovations this trade show has to offer.
What can we expect Amazon will be shipping to our door any day now? Well, there’s a whole slew of things.
There’s a fancy “selfie drone” called Nixie that you wear on your arm, for one. I kid you not. For those who are just plumb tired of having to lift their phone for one more boring grin-pic, this carbon-fiber gizmo can detach from your wrist, flutter about your noggin and snap photos or even record 4K quality video of you smiling and preening for your Instagram followers. Then when done, it hovers back to nest comfortably on your wrist ’til next time.
In addition to that, there are 
self-parking cars, a ring that turns on and off all your electronics, light bulbs that boost your home’s Wi-Fi signal and come with built-in cameras, and a home security monitoring system that actually recognizes your family’s faces and immediately alerts your smartphone if an unfamiliar mug walks in the house.
There are levitating Bluetooth speakers and baby bottle holders that can measure how fast and how much your kiddo is drinking. Oh and get this, The Vigilant Rainbow Company even came up with a smart toothbrush that sends your smartphone the inside scoop on how well your tykes are brushing. No more of that wet-the-brush-and-call-it-a-night stuff for Junior anymore.
What I found particularly interesting is all the self-help doctoring gadgets that will soon be available to aid the young and old. There are some 300 “health and biotech” exhibitors at the convention this year presenting tons of health-focused must-haves of the future.
So if, for example, a little one starts crying about his ear throbbing at two in the morning, Dad won’t have to automatically grab the keys for a trip to the emergency room. He can just grab his iPhone. A company call CellScope has developed a little ear probe that you clip on your phone’s camera and use as an examination tool. Not only that, but the connecting app can even send video to on-call doctors who reportedly will analyze the problem in under two hours.
Other telemedicine wonders include something called the Quell, a smart “cuff” that wraps around a person’s leg to relieve pain related to diabetes, fibromyalgia and sciatica. And a company called Neurotrack is even in the process of developing a laptop-accessible test that uses your computer’s built-in cameras to potentially help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease from home.
Now, assuming that it all works, that’s some serious and potentially ground-breaking stuff that may all soon be at our fingertips. To be honest, though, my favorite health-care gizmo was a much less complex item: a smart belt.
Yeah, that’s right. We don’t need no stinking Apple Watch to help monitor our exercise programs when “Belty,” the automatically adjusting pants holder-upper, is there to help. This fashionable doodad kindly advises its wearer when it’s time to lose a few pounds. Oh, and it also electronically senses your physical changes and loosens its grip to make your waistline more comfy after a particularly sizable meal. Now that’s some high-tech weight training I can appreciate!
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