While January can often be a slightly less inspiring month, we always have the annual CES show to look forward to! Kicking off this week, the tech exhibits have once again wowed and surprised us, so we were keen to reveal our favourites.

The CES event, held in Las Vegas, is the biggest consumer tech event of the year, where revolutionary products from the world’s global brands and smaller companies alike are first revealed. This year, we’ve really been excited to see the world’s largest and unpiloted drone, big enough to fit human passengers. The EHang 184 promises this, as well as a travel range of up to 10 miles, and its foldable design means it will be able to fit neatly in a parking spot. To contrast, CES also showcased one of the world’s smallest drones, measuring just under two inches, making it almost pocket-sized in dimensions. Named the “ONAGOfly”, this drone is not only portable, but easy to use too, with automatic take off and landing as soon as you throw it into the air. From there, the user can even control it via his or her smartphone.

Ehang 184

Onagofly

At last year’s CES, one of the highlights was seeing the Mercedes F 015, the company’s luxury car of the future. Aside from being breathtakingly beautiful, this model revealed what future driving experiences might hold, from rotating passenger seats, to its self-driving capabilities. This year, the event’s automobile highlight has come from Faraday Future, a Chinese electric car company, whose revolutionary new model is entitled, the “FFZero 1”. With 1000 horsepower, a smartphone integrated into the steering wheel, and a dashboard complete with Internet connectivity, this electric car contains all the trappings of modernity. In addition, the driver’s seat is designed in the style of a NASA cockpit, with a fully encompassing and curved white interior, and a steering wheel reminiscent of a joystick.

FFZero1

A gadget that’s been making waves recently is the SCiO, a miniature portable Bluetooth-connected molecular sensor, which uses infrared technology to analyse any food or drink’s chemical structure. Created by French start up, DietSensor, the device can be used to discover caloric amounts, macronutrient content, and even a food’s shelf life. While the gadget was intended to help those with health conditions such as diabetes, it will undoubtedly be a great tool for the diet industry, helping many of us become more nutritionally aware. For $249, it’s a pricey gadget, but a potentially very useful one- and in addition, the company has also launched a separate app that can be installed and used for a $10 per month subscription fee.

SCiO Diet sensor

We love any gadget which we can see slotting into our daily routines, and the relatively inexpensive $109 “olfactory” alarm clock by Sensorwake does just that. The alarm clock’s unique technology will fill your bedroom with a scent of your choice, such as the ocean, a jungle, coffee and croissants, chocolate and peppermint, with the aim of luring you out of bed! And while this next item isn’t for everyday as such, we imagine it coming in very useful when travelling abroad. The Lli translator device has certainly been one of our favourite product revelations this year- the user simply need wear this necklace-style gadget around his or her neck, and conversations and questions can automatically be translated out loud in the language of choice.

Have you been following the news from CES this year? And which gadgets have been your favourites? We’d love to hear your thoughts as always, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.