The Consumer Electronics Show 2013: Cutting Edge Tech We Want Now

The Consumer Electronics Show is like fashion week for techies. Instead of seeing the fabrics and details on fabulous new fashions up close and in person, CES attendees get their hands on all the latest technological innovations months, sometimes years, before they'll hit the market. Some of the innovations are super technical with specs only a computer engineer could decipher, and others are easily comparable to Cher's closet in Clueless. Guess which ones we're most interested in? 

Virtual Fitting Room

I think we all agree that when we think of the closet of the future, we think of Clueless and Cher's motorized closet that synced with her computer and allowed her to virtually try on her clothes. Right now, the reality is much closer to the security body scan at the airport. A new iteration of a virtual fitting room (or two or three) shows up at CES every year. This year, LG presented a virtual fitting room and Styku showcased its Smart Fitting Room, shown. It uses Microsoft Kinect body-scanning technology that is already in use on some online retailer websites to help customers find the perfect fit online. Check it out at billy blues. I think tech companies are working on perfecting this technology for retailers before they worry much about home users. 

HzO WaterBlock

This isn't necessarily a technology that's specific to the fashion world, but who hasn't lost a phone to water damage? The bathroom is full of dangerous pitfalls when you're Instagramming your latest smokey eye. The HzO WaterBlock is a nano-coating that protects small electronics on the inside. The company claims the product repels moisture at the molecular level, attaching to the circuits in a device to repel any liquids. It doesn't add any weight and it doesn't affect performance. The first phone to boast the WaterBlock will be the luxury Tag Heuer smartphone.

Intellect Motion

The fashion crowd is pretty notorious for avoiding the great outdoors and taking up fad workouts in the convenience of our neighborhood gym rather than braving the wild. Intellect Motion fits the bill with a little added buzzy technology for motivation. This is a $10,000 gaming system that consists of a steel frame, bungee cords, a computer, some web cams and wearable sensors. You use actual motions to control the game, a little bit like a Wii, but being strapped in provides resistance. A Mashable reporter said, "I had to move my body to run forward and twist to turn from side to side. This is more strenuous than it sounds. That's why they call it 'Play for Health.'"


Along with the fitness fads come the diet fads. This fork from Hapilabs is basically the eating tracker to your fitness tracker that records your workouts. It tracks when you start eating a meal, when you stop, how many bites you take, and the time taken between every forkful. If you are eating faster than the "ideal" ten seconds per bite, a capacitive system begins to vibrate the fork reminding you to slow down.