Those weird little devices at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025

The Consumer Electronics Show 2025 did not disappoint when it came to showcasing bizarre technology. From robots to gold rings, here's a quick look at some of the wackiest creations:

Shy robot Mirumi:

Yukai Engineering presents Mirumi, a charming robot that mounts to a purse, observes its surroundings and bobbles its head like a curious baby.Mirumi aims to recreate the delightful experience one has when interacting with a baby through curiosity, shyness and comfort.

A wallet-sized sloth robot that hides its face if strangers get too close. Cute or creepy? You decide.

Cell phone toaster:

Swippitt's charger looks like a toaster, but it will replace your cell phone's battery with a fully charged one without any wires.

LG's air purifier for cats:

It's both an air purifier and a cat climbing frame, with a pet scale and heated seat. Quirky, isn't it?

Gold-colored smart ring:

Ultrahuman's $1,900 smart ring tracks your health - why not combine fitness with showing off your wealth?

Anime pods:

A capsule that sells for $400-$500 and comes with 3D characters that can talk, cheer you on, or wake you up. Pretty normal.

The robot cat that cools your coffee.

A new adorable gadget from Yukai Engineering is the Nékojita FuFu, a miniature robotic cat that can be mounted on a cup or bowl and will blow air at human-like intervals to help cool your coffee or soup. The company says the product was created because a team leader wanted an easier way to cool freshly cooked baby food, as doing it manually often left him short of breath and dizzy.

Electronic Spoon for Enhancing Food Flavor.

Japan's Kirin Holdings has showcased an electronic spoon that claims to make food taste saltier without the need for additional salt. The spoon, which uses a weak electric current to concentrate sodium ion molecules in food, adding a more intense fresh and salty flavor to low-sodium foods, sells for a whopping $127.

Here's our take: the Consumer Electronics Show keeps reminding us that technology can be practical ...... or just plain ridiculous. Which of these would you actually use?

Omi: wearable AI that tries to be different

Ever heard of a productivity tool that you can stick on your head? Check out Omi, a quirky little AI assistant that doubles as a necklace or sticks to your temple like it reads your mind (literally).

Here is some information about Omi:

• It's not here to replace your cell phone. It's more of a helpful assistant for to-do lists, scheduling and summarizing conversations.
• Run on an open source platform - your data is transparent or local, the choice is yours.
• It already has more than 250 apps in its own app store.
• The consumer version costs $89, but developers can get it for $70 today.

Its "brain interface" feature is the real surprise. Founder Nik Shevchenko claims that it doesn't need any wake-up calls to know when you're talking to it. Does it work? Well, time will tell.

Here's our take: the Omi is part crazy experiment, part practical tool. Will it stick around, or fade away like so many hyped devices? Let's wait and see.