Hottest new tech at Consumer Electronics Show this week

Companion robots, virtual reality, the internet of things, TVs, cars and high tech beauty products are among the latest and greatest gadgets being unveiled at the 50th anniversary of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which opened to the public today.

• Kuri, a companion and surveillance robot, can see, hear, and express emotions through light as it follows you around the house.

• Startup carmaker Faraday Future, promises to have electric cars roll off a new $1 billion assembly line in southern Nevada in 2018.The company demonstrated its four-door, 1,050-horsepower FF 91 model clocking 0-to-60 mph in just under 2.4 seconds.

• When it comes to new televisions, consumers are seeing incrementally better pictures, larger — yet thinner — screens, upgraded audio, and cheaper prices.

• For parents of little ones, there is the Dozer - an adorable, fluffy, sheep stuffed animal that will play music and monitor how well your child slept at night.

For the techy-savvy kids, Lego Boost will let them turn the Legos they already have into a robot and other smart toys.

Make any refrigerator a “smart” device with the Smarter Fridge Cam. It takes a picture every time the fridge door closes and sends an alert if you need to replace something.

• For the hair obsessed, there is the Kerastase Hair Coach. A brush that uses a microphone to record how brittle and dry hair sounds. It connects to an app to give haircare advice — conditioner not included.

• Gap is testing a smartphone app that will let customers try on clothes without stepping foot in a dressing room.

• Developers are also showing off VR peripherals that help you control your experience- like the 3D Rudder foot control. HTC is launching trackers for its Vive virtual-reality system that users can attach to physical objects such as bats or toy guns in order to make them part of a virtual reality adventure.

CES is one of the world’s largest trade shows and is the forum for many tech companies and startups to unveil their plans for the year. Its influence has waned over the years, given that many leading companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft hold their own events. But the CES show still draws a lot of attention.

Rachel Murray is a WHIO-TV consumer reporter. You can watch her reports on News Center 7, follow her on Twitter @RMurrayWHIO, and like her fan page on Facebook.

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