5 cool CES showstoppers

LAS VEGAS — When you’re on the hunt for CES showstoppers, it’s hard to top a man taking a hammer to an iPhone screen protector.
Brad Bell, a marketing vice-president for Invisible Shield, was trying to prove how his new clear screen protection for smartphones is so tough, it could withstand just about anything.
Well, he did make a few dents, but the screen shield didn’t crack, nor did the iPhone break when he kept dropping a big steel ball on it.
Invisible Shield came to CES to launch its $79.99 “beta” program, offering a screen protector with a guarantee that sees the company paying up to $100 if your screen gets cracked.
How many people do you know with cracked smartphone screens?
That’s a CES showstopper.

 We also liked:
— Epson’s new video glasses, one for drones, the other for augmented reality. The Moverio BT-300, selling for $799, connects to DJI drones to show you what the quadcopter is seeing. This is a cool alternative to how we do it now: staring down at the smartphone, which acts as the viewfinder. Epson, best known for printers, also has a pair for augmented reality, showing information on the screen in real life. Its promo video on YouTube has an example at the gym, where workout information is added to what you see on the gym floor.
— Pinball machines were at CES. Well, one company was, anyway. Stern Pinball, showing off its brand-new Aerosmith- themed machine, with “a more complex system of circuit boards and new types of displays,” explains Stern’s Jody Dankberg. Pinball is now “a different, modern experience.”
— Robots are everywhere at CES. We met a Chinese company, AI Nemo, which may be on to something. Its “family” robot, “Little Fish,” is basically Alexa with a video screen, explains AI’s Clement Song.
“You can do a lot more than what you can just do with voice,” he says.
With the screen and a built-in camera, the robot gets to know you, so that for instance, online shopping can only be authenticated by you, not your kid. (No plans to bring the robot here — yet.)
— Finally, the tech product for everyone, a new mattress. The folks from Sleep Number are pouring on the hype, saying that it’s new 360 mattress, a winner of the CES Innovation Award, is the “bed reborn.”
“It can sense what you’re doing in bed and automatically adjust,” says Sleep Number’s Christine Hamon.
Machine learning features include automatically adjusting if you snore, adding an automatic night light on the bed if you get up in the middle of the night, and pre-warming to toast up your feet on a cold night. It also connects to an app to offer information on how you’re sleeping.
A queen mattress starts at around $1,200 and will be available later this year.
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