6 January 2016 Last updated at 11:15 GMT
Haptic controls vibrate your skin with focused ultrasonic waves, giving you the sensation that you are touching buttons that are not really there.
The BBC's Dave Lee went hands-on with a haptic-controlled stereo and quizzed Steve Cliffe from Ultrahaptics.
Read more of our CES articles and follow the BBC team covering the show on Twitter.
A Bristol-based firm is developing a range of products with controls you cannot see, but can still feel.