CES 2019: Five incredible travel gadgets debuting in Las Vegas this week
From robot luggage to a ‘second brain’ that memorises faces, tech’s biggest annual convention has a lot of travel tech
The tech world descended on Las Vegas this week, with 180,000 people travelling around 4,500+ exhibitors across six venues. TravGear was among them to find you the latest, greatest, and the most travel-friendly tech new for 2019. Here is our pick of CES 2019:
1 – Rover Speed luggage
Is it time you got some autonomous luggage? Something that would be very handy around the convention halls of Las Vegas this week is Rover Speed, a suitcase that uses advanced artificial intelligence to track and follow its owner. If it ever gets more than 2m from its master, it sends an alert to their phone. It also has a built-in battery for recharging phones. Pre-order now at cowarobotrover.com
2 – LynQ long-range tracker
Have you ever lost your friends while our skiing? This ingenious GPS tracker, which weighs just 73g, is designed to be dished out to a group of up to 12 people to ensure they can find each other over a three-mile radius. Using low-power Internet of Things networks as well as GPS, a small screen on LynQ shows you in what direction a person is using a large arrow, so you know if someone has skied-off down the mountain, or is stuck somewhere behind you. On sale now for US$209 at www.lynqme.com
3 – Thinkware Q800 PRO dashcam
Taking a dashcam on a road-trip is a wise move, not least because they record road incidents and accidents. However, this high quality dashcam records in QHD – twice the detail that full HD dashcams offer – so can be used alongside a GoPro to capture great footage while you drive. Ideal for a road-trip through spectacular scenery, the Q800 PRO has front and rear cameras, a polarising filter to reduce dashboard reflections, Super Night Vision, built-in GPS, and a time-lapse mode that captures two frames per second for three days on one charge.
4 – OrCam MyMe
Wearable cameras have been around for a few years, notably the Google Clips, but the OrCam MyMe takes it to new heights. Selling itself as a ‘second brain’, MyMe is an artificial intelligence wearable that can send you instant information about the food you’re eating, the person you’re talking to, and even where you parked your car. It does so by monitoring, sensing, and computing the wearer’s visual and auditory world while providing real-time feedback and analytics. It’s capable of face detection and recognition, image categorization, product recognition, and speech-to-text transformation. It launched on Kickstarter this month. It will cost US$399 when it goes on sale in March. www.orcam.com
5 – Scosche BTFREQ
Can you talk to your in-car phone charger? A tiny device sporting both USB-A and USB-C slots for charging smartphones, tablets and cameras, the BTFREQ impresses as a simple solution for road-trips. However, in goes way further than fuelling phones, instead using your phone to create an in-car hands-free system. Not only does it patch your phone into a rental car’s speakers via Bluetooth, but it has Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant built-in so you can ask to play music, hear the news, check weather etc. The BTFREQ will be available in late 2019 from www.scosche.com