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CES 2016: Popular Mechanics Editors' Choice Awards

We spent the week walking the hallways of CES searching for the forward-thinking designs that will change our lives. Here are our favorite items from CES 2016.

Headshot of Popular Mechanics EditorsBy Popular Mechanics Editors
Lighting, Crowd, Night, Electricity, Customer, Electric blue, Trade, Market, Marketplace, Electronic signage, pinterest
Eric Limer

What a crazy year already! CES 2016 is a perfect mix of that past and future. Vinyl's back with a vengeance. Tablets are cool again, and so is charging your iPhone. At the same time, virtual reality is finally showing up in force, and the future is banging down our door.

Here are the Popular Mechanics' editors picks for the best stuff at the Consumer Electronics Show of 2016. Get ready to lust after some gadgets!

A computer that heats your home for free

<p>Ever wish it didn't cost you a dime to turn the heater up a little? With <a href="http://www.qarnot-computing.com/">Qarnot Computing</a> it might not. Imagine replacing your radiator with a computer, and the adjusting the heat of your apartment by tweaking the amount of data-crunching your wall-mounted computer/radiator does. Qarnot heater/computers heat your home by crunching numbers for banks and other big budget operations, spinning up power and throwing off heat according to your temperature specifications while the folks benefitting form the processing power pay for mantinence and the cost of installation.  </p>
Qarnot

Ever wish it didn't cost you a dime to turn the heater up a little? With Qarnot Computing it might not. Imagine replacing your radiator with a computer, and the adjusting the heat of your apartment by tweaking the amount of data-crunching your wall-mounted computer/radiator does. Qarnot heater/computers heat your home by crunching numbers for banks and other big budget operations, spinning up power and throwing off heat according to your temperature specifications while the folks benefitting form the processing power pay for mantinence and the cost of installation.

Drones that use hydrogen-fuel cells to fly for hours on end

<p>The drone future is upon us, but those flying fiends are constrained but a very practical problem: battery power. The average drone can only fly for 20 or so minutes on a charge unless something else comes to the rescue. <a href="http://intelligent-energy.com/">Intelligent Energy</a> is devoted to bringing hydrogen fuel cell technology to all gadgets—phones an drones alike—and the prototypes its shown off at CES 2016 are a promising advancement. It might not be long before delivery drones can cover hundreds of miles instead of mere tens.</p><p><br></p>
Intelligent Energy

The drone future is upon us, but those flying fiends are constrained but a very practical problem: battery power. The average drone can only fly for 20 or so minutes on a charge unless something else comes to the rescue. Intelligent Energy is devoted to bringing hydrogen fuel cell technology to all gadgets—phones an drones alike—and the prototypes its shown off at CES 2016 are a promising advancement. It might not be long before delivery drones can cover hundreds of miles instead of mere tens.


A thermometer that takes us one step closer to the tricorder

<p>What if you never had to stick a thermometer in your mouth, or ear (or elsewhere) ever again? <a href="http://www.withings.com/eu/en/products/thermo">The Withings Thermo</a> is a step in that direction. With built-in infrared sensors that take your temp, the Thermo just needs a little skin time. Apply directly to the forehead and you have your temperature  immediately, both on the Thermo's display and on the accompanying smartphone app. It's not quite a tricorder, but it's a step in that direction! </p>

What if you never had to stick a thermometer in your mouth, or ear (or elsewhere) ever again? The Withings Thermo is a step in that direction. With built-in infrared sensors that take your temp, the Thermo just needs a little skin time. Apply directly to the forehead and you have your temperature immediately, both on the Thermo's display and on the accompanying smartphone app. It's not quite a tricorder, but it's a step in that direction!

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A futuristic sci-fi instrument you can actually afford

<p>The piano keyboard's been basically the same since Mozart wrote his first opera in the mid 1700s, but <a href="http://roli.com">Roli</a> is doing all it can to update the form. Initially released in September of 2015, the new Roli Seaboard Rise was there in force at CES 2016, showing off the versatility of new, highly-interoperable keys. If you're looking for the instrument of the future, look no further. </p>

The piano keyboard's been basically the same since Mozart wrote his first opera in the mid 1700s, but Roli is doing all it can to update the form. Initially released in September of 2015, the new Roli Seaboard Rise was there in force at CES 2016, showing off the versatility of new, highly-interoperable keys. If you're looking for the instrument of the future, look no further.

A classic turntable brought back to life

A classic turntable brought back to life
Panasonic

A dead-simple fixed wing drone anyone can fly

<p>Consumer drones are here in force and here to say, but most of them take the form of a quadcopter with spinning blades akimbo. <a href="http://blog.parrot.com/2016/01/04/ces-2016-new-drone-parrot-disco-prototype/">Parrot's new Disco drone</a> is the exception to the rule, with fixed wings that make it more of a Predator-type affair. Yes, it lacks weapons, but with an easy toss-it-over-your-shoulder automatic launch and a camera mounted on its nose, the Parrot Disco is one hell of an impressive flier, and one that will doubtlessly redefine the design of drones for years to come.</p>
Parrot

Consumer drones are here in force and here to say, but most of them take the form of a quadcopter with spinning blades akimbo. Parrot's new Disco drone is the exception to the rule, with fixed wings that make it more of a Predator-type affair. Yes, it lacks weapons, but with an easy toss-it-over-your-shoulder automatic launch and a camera mounted on its nose, the Parrot Disco is one hell of an impressive flier, and one that will doubtlessly redefine the design of drones for years to come.

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A transforming tablet that forms to your needs

<p>Sometimes a tablet just isn't quite what you want it to be, but <a href="http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/thisisthinkpad/innovation/x1-tablet-customise-dont-compromise.shtml">Lenovo's Thinkpad X1</a> is doing its best to please you. With a selection of four external modules–which include a battery pack and a projector—the new Thinkpad Tab is whatever you want it to be at any given moment, at least if you shell out for the different modules. </p>
Lenovo

Sometimes a tablet just isn't quite what you want it to be, but Lenovo's Thinkpad X1 is doing its best to please you. With a selection of four external modules–which include a battery pack and a projector—the new Thinkpad Tab is whatever you want it to be at any given moment, at least if you shell out for the different modules.

A glowing cylinder that can charger your iPhone in mid-air

<p>If you thought plugging in at the end of the night was a drag, there's an end in sight. <a href="http://www.ossia.com/cota/">Ossia's Cota wireless charging system</a> will charge your iPhone with no cables required. Yes, there is a catch: you'll need a special chip embedded in your phone. Otherwise it'll have to live in a bulky charging case to get that over-the-air power. But in just a few years this might become the beautiful norm.</p>
Ossia

If you thought plugging in at the end of the night was a drag, there's an end in sight. Ossia's Cota wireless charging system will charge your iPhone with no cables required. Yes, there is a catch: you'll need a special chip embedded in your phone. Otherwise it'll have to live in a bulky charging case to get that over-the-air power. But in just a few years this might become the beautiful norm.

A 1000-horsepower electric race car on a modular body

<p>If you were afraid that all self-driving cars would turn into the cutesy pods that Google's imagining, wait no longer. <a href="http://www.faradayfuture.com/">Faraday Future</a>'s plan is to create a serious 1,000 horsepower super racer that'll give electric racers a good name. </p>
Faraday Future

If you were afraid that all self-driving cars would turn into the cutesy pods that Google's imagining, wait no longer. Faraday Future's plan is to create a serious 1,000 horsepower super racer that'll give electric racers a good name.

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A display you can roll up and put in your pocket

<p>It's one thing to be able to put a touchscreen super computer in your pocket. It's another to roll up a whole TV and cram it in there. It's not ready for consumer markets quite yet, <a href="http://www.lg.com/us/tv-audio-video">but LG's 18-inch rollable TV</a> is a marvel of consumer technology. It won't be too long before you can roll up your TV and bring it with you. </p>
LG

It's one thing to be able to put a touchscreen super computer in your pocket. It's another to roll up a whole TV and cram it in there. It's not ready for consumer markets quite yet, but LG's 18-inch rollable TV is a marvel of consumer technology. It won't be too long before you can roll up your TV and bring it with you.

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