The best robots and AI innovations at CES 2023

From mundane tools like lawn mowers to fantastical concept cars that get to know their drivers, just about every innovation showcased at CES 2023 was infused with AI. While some products took the form of “robots,” others invisibly leveraged AI capabilities to make everyday products smarter and more useful. 

As AMD CEO Lisa Su said in her keynote address, “AI is truly the most important megatrend for the future of tech.” 

Here’s a look at some of the best and most eye-catching AI-powered products from CES: 

The Peugeot Inception Concept Car

Advancements in autonomous driving haven’t developed as quickly as some imagined they would. However, cars are incrementally becoming smarter and smarter, with autonomy seemingly just over the horizon. 

Case in point: Peugeot, Stellantis’s French automobile brand, unveiled the Inception Concept car, an electric vehicle demonstrating what a car can be, once you do away with the steering wheel, get comfortable and let the vehicle get to know you a little. 

The Inception Concept can wake up as you approach the car, recognize you, greet you, and then automatically adjust the car to your preferred driving settings. Instead of a cabin, which would traditionally hold a driver and a passenger, this vehicle has a “lounge” where passengers can all relax. The car features an upgraded version of Peugeot’s i-Cockpit, which demonstrates how a person could control a vehicle without a steering wheel. 

Parky, the Autonomous EV Recharging Robot

While autonomous cars are still in development, other market-ready autonomous mobility tools were on display on CES. 

The company Evar was at the conference with Parky, an autonomous EV recharging robot that brings a charging station to any parking spot. It’s designed for building owners that want to make their parking spots more EV-friendly without adding electric capacity.

To use Parky, a driver would have to find a spot next to an EV robot connector and plug in. Then, you can use NFC to call Parky, and it will automatically find your car. The robot provides 15kW DC charging per hour, delivering 50 miles of driving range. 

The Ella Smart Stroller

Everyone wants the best for their baby. The GlüxKind Ella promises that with a “smart” travel system that comes a variety of AI-powered features intended to keep the baby safe and parents happy. 

With computer vision, the Ella stroller can give parents “environmental danger alerts” when there’s something nearby worth noting. 

Meanwhile, the Hands Free Mode — still in beta — allows the stroller to move on its own, staying near you at your pace. It only works when the stroller is unoccupied. If the stroller gets a little too far away, its intelligent breaking system will kick in. 

The Ella stroller also has all the bells and whistles any stylish parent would want, comprehensively equipped with a car seat, infant bassinet, and toddler seat. There’s an automatic Rock-My-Baby feature, as well as a built-in white noise machine. You can reserve a spot to order a stroller from the limited production run of the Founder Edition GlüxKind Ella.

The EcoFlow Blade robotic lawn-sweeping mower

Lawn care is another part of everyday life where AI comes in handy, and it was a hot topic at CES. EcoFlow introduced the EcoFlow Blade, which they claim is the “world’s first” robotic lawn-sweeping mower capable of collecting fallen leaves. The robot uses smart in-app programs, GPS and LiDAR to perform automatic leaf collection and precision edge mowing.

ALSO: Dandy’s new weed-killing lawn robot will save your back

U-Scan toilet bowl sensor 

CES also reflected a clear demand for health and wellness products that use AI to deliver personalized care and health data tracking. 

The Withings U-Scan toilet bowl sensor attaches to the inside of your toilet’s bowl. It includes a nutrition and metabolic urine tracker, checks pH, ketone, vitamin C levels, and more. A second tracker monitors women’s luteinizing hormone for ovulation cycles. Each promise early detection of potential health issues.

The U-Scan claims it can even differentiate between your urine and that of any guests, based on various factors like distance and speed of the flow. The accompanying app allows you to check the health stats straight from your smartphone — no meddling with the toilet bowl sensor needed.

Citizen CZ Smartwatch

Citizen’s latest CZ Smartwatch harnesses AI and NASA research to measure your fatigue and alertness. The watch and its accompanying app gather and analyze sleep data to accurately assess a user’s chronotype (a person’s preferred sleep time and wake time).

The watch uses other data such as activity and heart rate to develop personalized Power Fixes, which advise users on specific ways to increase alertness.  The more you use the watch, the more it will learn about you, and the more accurate the predictions and tips will become.

iVolve Pro tennis-partner robot 

AI doesn’t just help you track your fitness — it can help you improve it, while having some fun. The iVolve Pro robot was an honoree in the CES Fitness & Sports category. The robot looks like a tennis ball machine but claims to be muc more. 

The robot uses AI and computer vision to shoot the ball dynamically and move across the court, simulating the experience of playing against another person.