Aska’s $789,000 flying car hopes to be flying in 2026.
The Computer Electronics Show (CES) was back, live, in full force in Las Vegas for 2023.
This year, the event, which had been virtual during COVID, was its in-person-wild-and-crazy old self, with lots of mind-bending new products on display.
“CES is the most influential tech event in the world—the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators,” according to the Consumer Technology Association. Here is a roundup of highlights from the show.
Automotive
Hands down, the flying car was the top of my list. Aska’s $789,000 flying car is pending approval from the FAA and hopes to be flying in 2026. It’s powered by electric batteries, carries four people and fits in a conventional parking space. It can fly 150 mph and has a range of 250 miles on a single electric charge.
The BMW iVision Dee is a color changing car that changes the exterior design of the car at the whim of its owner using E Ink’s low-energy segmented display technology. This digital beauty is a compact sedan that recognizes and “learns” its owner. It can sense the driver’s mood, and it can chat to the driver, acting as a road buddy. Instead of a normal dashboard, the car’s entire windshield is the display panel which can give basic info like speed all the way up to virtual or augmented reality overlays to entertain its owner during automated driverless journeys.
Boats
Billed as the Teslas of the Seas, Candela of Sweden and Navier of California unveiled electric powered hydrofoil speedboats that can cruise for over two hours at 20 knots (23mph). Even Brunswick showed off an electric outboard motor for traditional boats. Electric powered boats would be great for the environment, but sailors have big qualms about their range limitations. Running out of juice or having mechanical difficulties 50 miles out at sea is not something a lot of mariners are keen to risk yet.
TVs
The TV I liked the best from this year’s models was the Displace Wireless TV. Samsung and other companies all presented wireless models which are TVs that hang on the wall and only require a power plug. They come with a connect box you can put off in corner that receives and transmits the television signals so you don’t have a tangle of wires to hide. But the Displace TV has another, amazing feature. At 55 inches and weighing 20 pounds, it sticks by suction, to any flat surface you want to place it on. You could put it on a wall or a window… anywhere you can stick it. And the Displace runs on four rechargeable batteries so you don’t even need a plug.
