CES 2006: Best Of Show

Dan Dubno On Devices For Work, Play, & Improving Your Life

(CBS) 

iRobot’s Scooba

As a huge fan of the Roomba, the personal floor cleaning robotic vacuum cleaner, I’m ecstatic about the long-awaited Scooba. Not content with having a Frisbee-sized robot just scooping up dust and dirt, iRobot has introduced a floor scrubbing Scooba that actually washes and dries floors.

First, the Scooba scoops up dirt then applies a specially formulated Clorox solution. After polishing the floor, it sucks up the dirty solution and simultaneously dries the floor. The Scooba we tested worked flawlessly, even with frequent applications of puddles of sticky Coca Cola. Scooba retails for under $399 and is available now.

Video: iRobot's Scooba at work

Robot-nuts also enjoyed seeing new entries from Lego Mindstorms, Vex, and HiTec Robotics. These products promise hours of fun building robots (and, as a happy side-effect, training tomorrow’s engineers!)

Lego Mindstorms

Lego has added an array of new sensors and other technology that would give junior-robot-builders the ability to add sound and vision tools to their repertoire. In addition, Mindstorms has added new capabilities to let kid-built robots travel in a straight line.

Video: Lego Mindstorms

Vex

RadioShack has daringly returned to the world of education and techno-wonder, with their new VEX line of robotics kits. These are designed to fill the gap after roboticists graduate from Mindstorms. VEX kits offer accelerometers, motors, gears, software, sensors, and sophisticated engineering and construction tutorials. Most of the technology at CES is designed for consumption… VEX, on the other hand, is designed for educating our future engineers. Great stuff!

Video: VEX Robotics Kits

HiTec Robotics Robonova-1

Finally, a humanoid robot you can buy (either assembled or in a kit form) that walks, flips, cartwheels, and dances. Heavy metal construction with 18 servos, the Robonova is not cheap: Street price is under $1000.
Video: Check out HiTec Robotics Robonova-1 (It really is dancing!)

Exkate Raptor 4.0

Ok, this isn’t extremely high-tech, but it sure is fun: Exkate has built one of the wildest rides you’ll find anywhere. Their new remote-controlled electric skateboard achieves maximum speed of 15 Mph in under 4 seconds.

Not only do you accelerate using the handheld remote, you also get an electronic brake. I’m not much of a skateboarder, but I was keeping this bad boy fairly under control (even though I did crash a couple of times early on.) In the end, I felt that I could ride this well with a tad more practice… and if I can, anyone can.

The Exkate skateboard can go 15 miles per charge. (They also have a gasoline-powered skateboard, but I wasn’t going anywhere near that kamikase device!)

Web Exclusive: "Digital Dan" Dubno(barely)riding the Exkate Raptor electric skateboard


Other Noteworthy Hi-Tech Newcomers


Celestron unveiled the SkyScout: a personal handheld planetarium device, with an onboard GPS, that locates, identifies, and teaches users about celestial objects. (The SkyScout was also a winner of “The Last Gadget Standing” competition.)

Hillcrest Labs revealed an elegant approach to browsing for media content. Using a unique ring-like remote control, Hillcrest Labs demonstrates a more intuitive interface for selecting video, music, and other on-screen digital content. People think visually and Hillcrest's approach is astonishingly simple and clear.

Video: Hillcrest Labs innovative browser

Sony introduced an amazing DVD Handycam Model DCR-DVD 505. What I really loved about this was the optional BlueTooth Wireless Microphone (ECM-HW1R). Here's the brilliant part: stick the wireless mike on your child singing in the chorus and you'll only hear his off-key singing and not the rest of the class. Parents will love this option.

The good news is that the BlueTooth receiver is ready to go after you snap it in to the hotshoe on top of the camera. The bad news is that you can only use this BlueTooth wireless mike combo on the new Sony line of cameras... cameras that support the 5.1 surround sound configuration. But, I just love the idea. I'm a little perplexed that Sony said the BlueTooth mike could work as far as 100 feet away (since the BlueTooth specifications are limited to 33 feet..) but I suppose they have an amplifier of some kind in the transmitter or receiver.

Anyway, these are just a few of my favorite things from this year's CES. I saw many, many other products... some in early stages of development. Suffice it to say that we have seen enough products in the pipeline to give us work and play for the next six months.