The Wonders of CES 2025

flying vehicle
The Electric VTO Modular Flying Car produced by Xpeng Aero
Photo by Sal Musco

After the holidays the next exciting happening I look forward to, is the Consumer Electronics Show. This year, CES was in Las Vegas the first week of January. According to the Consumer Technology Association who organizes the event, there were more than 138,000 attendees and over 4,500 exhibitors. 

The first razzle-dazzle to catch my eye was the Xpeng Aero HT Land Aircraft Carrier. The truck/transport vehicle resembled a Tesla cyber truck except that it had six wheels and four seats. The Electric VTO craft has six rotors, which all have to be unfolded into flight configuration. When the rotars are unfolded, it looks just like a shiny black helicopter! According to the manufacturer the flying controls are reduced to a single lever. The takeoffs and landings are both automated. The flight time is approximately 20 minutes on a single battery charge. The company currently plans to produce 10,000 of these vehicles per year offered at $300,000. Although their initial target will be private consumers, they forsee use in emergency medical transportation or even evacuation from high-rise buildings.

The HP Sprocket Photo Booth
Photo by Sal Musco

Next on my radar was a party booth with lots of bright colors, balloons, and a live Barbie and Ken!!! This booth belonged to HP Sprocket Photo Booth. The photo booth and printer is intended to be used at private homes for parties. It retails at $599. It’s also compact enough to travel with should one want to take it to a wedding or other events.  The booth has an adjustable LCD touchscreen that provides a live view of your images and includes a variety of filters that can be used for live events. The prints come out smudge proof, water resistant, and tear resistant. Live Barbie and Ken do not come with the photo booth, but is kind of a cool idea for a Barbie-themed event. One half of their booth was devoted to this idea- included in the props were pink feather boas, white Stetson hats, sunglasses, pink berets, pink palm trees pink surfboards, and of course, pink balloons everywhere!

After walking around the show, I needed a rest and found some comfy sofas in the Movewear booth. Kathryn Zealand and Anna Roumiantseva are the two extraordinary young women founders of Movewear! 

Additional mobilty by Skip with Joy
Photo by Sal Musco

Their start up, Skip With Joy, Skip for short, began in San Francisco with a team of 12. Their goal was to develop a product that keeps people mobile longer in life. Utilizing the idea an Exoskeleton-model, they wanted to create wearable structures that could support and assist movement of the human body. They partnered with Arcteryx who makes innovative and technologically-advanced outdoor clothing gear. Skip brought their robotics and machine learning to Arcteryx design. The collaboration of these two companies led to the creation of a product that provides artificial boost when walking. Basically, it augments quadriceps and hamstring muscles, while at the same time absorbing the impact on the knee joints. It charges automatically as you are walking downhill. When commercially available this is likely to be a game changer for those who are needing a boost of support in their knees and leg muscles.

Latest innovations in manufactured housing
Photo by Sal Musco

Microhaus Pro What a pretty home! Oh, wait it’s not just a pretty dwelling! The company wanted to create the best of breed in all details of this structure, the materials, technologies, software, and energy efficiency solutions. According the manufacturer, the homes can withstand the worst climates. It is the only manufactured home offered in the US that can stand up to hurricane category 5 conditions and protected with a lifetime water warranty. The interior is well thought out, using every square inch efficiently; the buildings arrive fully-furnished and equipped. HVAC, ventilation, TV, stereo, linens, and even wine glasses are included! The materials are super durable but also good looking with an overall Zen aesthetic. The mini-houses retail from $35,000 to $90,000, ranging from 400 to 1600 square feet. It can really be anything- a yoga studio, a pool cabana, a guest house, or it can be your own primary residence. They are currently marketing them as an Airbnb and their website even has a calculator to give you an idea of how long it would take to get the return on your investment. Well! all that being said don’t forget it’s pretty!

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