Geeks gawking gadgets: CES 2015 (8 Photos)

Smart, flying, quirky… the line-up so far from this year’s CES 2015 has given us a sneak peek into the technology of the future.

With wearable technology and smart capability being popular themes, many of what used to be the most boring objects in your home, are turning digital and are being presented at the internationally renowned electronics and technology trade show.

The International CES is an annual competition honouring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products which takes place every January in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year’s exhibition will showcase more than 20, 000 products on display, created by the brightest minds in the biz. Some are designed to make everyday life more convenient, and others are designed purely to spark your inner nerd with weird and wonderful gadgets.

With Day 1 of the three-day convention complete, many tech gurus have been advocating for their favourite products. With 28 award categories like Safe Driving, Eco-Design and Sustainable Technologies, 3D Printing, and my personal favourite, Tech for a Better World, it really does feel like there’s a gizmo for everything and everyone. We’ve rounded up our favourites whether they are innovative, interesting, wacky or just plain weird, here’s what we like so far.

The Axxess CE Air2 floating Bluetooth speaker attracted a lot of attention, claiming to be the first Bluetooth speaker of its kind, levitating over its base. The award-winning speaker is innovative and attractive for audiophiles looking for a new party trick.

The Connected Cycle is a bicycle pedal that you attach to your existing cycle. This enables GPS and Internet using literal leg work. The technology is powered by the users’ movement as they cycle, and sensors track speed, route, incline and calories. Still in its development stage, the pedal will allow riders to track their goals in an app and locate their bike’s location at any time.

If you thought tech was above child’s play, think again. The baby tech trend has escalated at CES with products like the GIGL Smart Bottle, which monitors and instructs on feeding, to Temp Traq, a wearable wireless temperature monitor that sticks on like a band aid. The Mimo Baby monitor is a smart baby onesie ideal for new parents. The onesie monitors respiration, skin temperature, body position, and sleeping and activity levels of your infant. The data is then sent to a smartphone app in real time. This means that parents can set up alerts to monitor changes, and they won’t have to check on the baby throughout the night any more than they need to.

Auto companies are making their presence known at CES 2015 with Ford and Mercedez-Benz as two of the conferences keynote speakers showcasing some pretty revamped in-car tech. The Consumer Electronics Association predicts that sales of factory-installed technologies in cars will reach $11 billion in 2015 as drivers embrace 4G LTE connectivity, which turns your car into a rolling WiFi hotspot, as well as adaptive cruise control, parking assist and collision avoidance and other systems that enhance safety and offer a preview of self-driving cars, which will become increasingly commonplace in the next 10 years.

Toyota’s big announcement this year is the reiteration of the company’s faith in the viability of zero-emission fuel cell vehicles, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity to power a car. Whoa. The advantage of fuel cell technology over plug-in electric cars such as the Tesla Model S is that hydrogen refueling takes only three to five minutes, whereas recharging an electric car's batteries can take anywhere from 30 minutes to hours; however, the investment in plug-in technology has been significantly higher.

The Tao Chair allows you to achieve your 2015 fitness resolutions by not lifting a finger – or lifting anything for that matter. The exercise chair is designed to look like an ordinary lounging chair, but it turns downtime into exercise time by helping the user with his or her core, improving posture and strengthening muscles. Sounds like a dream right? The functionality sure sounds like one. After sitting down, users push or pull against the chair’s arms, forcing applied pressure and burning calories in return. Of course all progress is tracked with the chair’s built-in sensor and recorded on a smartphone app.

Parrot Pot is ideal for you notorious plant killers out there. The Bluetooth device can tell when your plant is thirsty and then water it for you. The pot is linked to mobile devices and can even monitor levels of fertilization and temperature, for those possessing more of a green thumb.

For 3D systems, the technology has been an overnight success with 3D shoes, jewelry, makeup, and customized skateboards. 3D manufacturers have really harnessed the 3D capabilities. None more so, in my hungry opinion, than 3D Systems, who launched their Chefjet and Cocojet food printers. Calling it “ideal for the baker or chocolatier,” 3DS says the CocoJet prints custom designs in dark, milk or white chocolate, perfect for the company’s new partnership with The Hershey Company.

Finally the XYZprinting Green Box is high on my list of “useable items”. The Green Cube developed by Chinese company XYZ Printing is a hydroponic box that allows lettuce and other vegetable to be grown anywhere in an accelerated growing climate. Fresh, locally grown veggies right in your own kitchen, in January!

With more than 3,600 exhibitors from 140 countries, nearly every hotel room in Vegas is booked up with nerds, celebrities, and nerdy-celebrities out to catch a glimpse at 2015’s technological breakthroughs. The showcase runs until Friday and for once we’re hoping what happens in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas.