The Consumer Electronics Show officially kicks off Wednesday 6 January and is expected to feature 3,600 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 150,000 attendees. The annual gadget extravaganza is the place for companies large and small to show off new connected devices, ranging from a 360-degree camera to an app which tightens your shoelaces. This years event will see 500 start-up companies – nearly double the number seen last year – who will be exhibiting their latest products.
IBTimes UK takes a closer look at some of the more unusual inventions
A woman displays the bottom side of the Hairmax LaserBand 82. The USD 795 unit, designed by Pinin Farina, uses 90-second treatments of red laser light at 655 nanometers to grow hair by increasing blood flow to the scalp and stimulating hair folliclesHairmaxA Mother monitoring system by Sen.se. Mother and the Motion Cookies are a family of smart sensors that you can set in two minutes to perform the functions you want and that you can change as often as you need. The Mother monitors motion and temperature. Steve Marcus/ ReutersHercules WAE nickel-plated Bluetooth speakers. The USD 129 speaker, scheduled to be available in March 2016, has an FM tuner, a mini jack and a USB port to recharge phones and is waterproof up to 1.5m for up to 30 minutes.Ethan Miller/ Getty ImagesThe Snakable USB charging cable. The cable has a strain relief assembly on both sides of the cable, at the connectors, to keep the cable from failing while protecting the wires underneathSteve Marcus/ ReutersA Qkey, a removable security device for personal information to be used in online shopping, A Qkey allows the user to new way to shop and secure personal information online, while securing payment data using the new Chip and PIN payment card technology developed by Visa and MasterCardDavid McNew/ Getty ImagesSlow Control's Yum & Done, the first smart spoon and a cuddly toy to help make children eat their vegetables. There is a button on the Bluetooth-enabled spoon, which activates an app on a smartphone or tablet that is covered by a cuddly toy to keep a child's attention while being fed from the spoonEthan Miller/ Getty ImagesA 3D drawing pen from xyzPrinting is displayed during a press event for CES 2016 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. PLA, a corn-based plastic material, gets pushed through the tip of the pen so that it comes out melted and then cools so the user can draw 3D objects with no computer or software, which can also be used to repair 3D-printed items.Ethan Miller/ Getty ImagesLuminion by Ubiant glows during a press event for CES 2016 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Luminion displays the a user's energy consumption using a lights system as well as Ubiant's Hemis cloud system and compares it with that of the community to encourage practices to reduce energy consumptionEthan Miller/ Getty ImagesA member the public uses the zero hand-controlled robotics kit, during the CES Unveiled press event in Las Vegas, NevadaDavid McNew/ Getty ImagesPeople look at Digisole smart shoes, which are controlled by a smartphone app for various actions such as automatic shoe tightening, foot warming, shock absorption measuring and calories burnedDavid McNew/ Getty ImagesJonathan Graff, director of clinical research for Apira Science, prepares himself for demonstrating the company's iDerma Facial Beautification System, which is designed to treat various skin-related disordersRick Wilking/ ReutersJonathan Graff tries on the iDerma Facial Beautification System. Described as a 'LED-based light-therapy system', the iDerma has been developed to enhance the consumer's overall complexion, making skin look more supple and radiant, while diminishing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and facial rhytidsRick Wilking/ ReutersThe Lily Camera, the world's first throw-and-shoot-camera that combines computer vision, GPS and stable, high-resolution image capture.Alex Wong/ Getty ImagesThe Allie 360-degree camera using two lenses on opposite sides is shown at The CES Unveiled press event, in Las Vegas, Nevada ahead of the CES 2016 Consumer Electronics Show.David McNew/ Getty ImagesThree 3D printers from xyzPrinting, including the da Vinci Mini 3D printer (L) are displayed during a press event for CES 2016. The 7.8-cubic-inch, USD 269 da Vinci Min, scheduled to be available in the second quarter of 2016, uses templates received by wireless transmission or USB.Ethan Miller/ Getty Images
The Consumer Electronics Show will run from the 6-9 January www.cesweb.org and will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada.
