Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

CES 2022: Colour changing cars and remotes that eat wi-fi

CES 2022: Colour changing cars and remotes that eat wi-fi

One of the tech calendar's biggest annual events, CES, has been taking place in Las Vegas this week.

The pandemic and fears over the spread of the Omicron variant meant numbers of attendees were down and some of the largest firms, including Meta, Google and Amazon, pulled out.

But there was still plenty of weird and wonderful technology on show.

Here's a look at some of the trends and more outlandish offerings from the show floor.

Where's the remote?
The remote harvests wi-fi signals from routers


TVs have always been a big draw at CES - with the emphasis on big, as every year they seem to gain more inches.

But this year it was a much smaller accessory - the TV remote control - that was garnering the headlines.

In 2021, Samsung added a solar panel to the back of its remote so that it could charge from the sun while sitting on the arm of a chair.

This year, it has come up with a new way to kill off the AAA battery market.

Its new version has a tiny antennae that can harvest radio frequency signals emitted by wi-fi routers from a distance of up to 40m (131ft), allowing it to charge even when the sun isn't shining.

Samsung said that the device will be included with new TVs and other home appliances, although not much detail was given on the technical specifications.

Chameleon car
The colour changes were subtle but attracted lots of interest


If you have ever grown bored with the colour of your car, then you might like BMW's idea - to change it on a whim.

It showed off how a car's exterior could effectively become ePaper which, when charged with a small electric current, changes colour or creates a pattern.

Its "iX Flow" technology is similar to that which powers e-book readers and covers the car in millions of tiny microcapsules.

The project is very much concept-only at this stage, but is intended to be more than cosmetic - changing to a light colour in hot weather or a dark colour in cooler weather will cut the amount of cooling and heating required inside the vehicle, the firm said.

But some critics pointed out that the system looked to be temperature-sensitive while others questioned the colour choice - currently only available in white, black and grey.

Robot-looking robots
Robots that had shelves rather than faces were on show this year


Past CES conferences have seen a parade of human-looking robots, ranging from the ultra-cute to the extremely creepy, and while some of these were still on show, it seems 2022 might usher in an era of the more practical bot.

The Servi one from Bear Robotics looked particularly enticing as it wafted around a booth with burgers and sushi on trays, offering to take the place of human waiters.

A fetching robot was also flavour of the week with Labrador Systems, which showed off its Retriever bot.

Chief executive Mike Dooley said it would be of great use for people "when pain or other health issues" meant that they cannot be as mobile as they would like.

The wheeled robot guides itself through a home using sensors. Users communicate with it via voice control or an app.

It can carry about 25lbs (11kg) and has two shelves which can move up and down to reach different heights.

The robot is currently being tested, with the aim of going into production in 2023.

Whiter teeth
On show was a machine that uses a high-intensity blue light to whiten teeth in 25 minutes.


The beauty industry has long looked to technology to improve its offerings, and CES has become home to much that is cutting-edge in the cosmetic industry.

This year, the Sound Mirror from Icon.AI won an innovation award. It looks like a conventional mirror, but conceals a voice-activated smart speaker that can play music, let you check the weather, set alarms or control other smart devices.

Mirror, mirror on the wall: a mirror you can talk to - but will you like the answer?


Meanwhile L'Oreal revealed an at-home hair dye device, while Ninu introduced a smart perfume that can create a personalised fragrance when connected to a smartphone app.

Its hi-tech bottle claims to be able to provide 100 different fragrances, depending on mood, weather or the occasion. It is due to start shipping in June.

And the Y-Brush, an unusual jaw-shaped electric toothbrush which claims to brush teeth in just 10 seconds, and debuted at CES in 2017, was back this year with an improved design. That including an easier-to-hold handle and more modes, such as teeth whitening and gum care.

Virtual CES
Visitors could combine physical and digital worlds in the SK Group booth


With coronavirus still posing a threat to real-life events, some firms chose to go entirely virtual, while others aimed to combine their physical presence with the much-hyped idea of the metaverse - a digital world that some believe we will work, learn and play in, in the future.

Samsung offered a "metaverse booth" which allowed users to experience some of its products while decorating their own home.

Procter and Gamble also opted for a "metaverse" experience. Partnering with London's Royal Botanic Gardens, users could wander the virtual grounds and learn about ingredients and the company sustainability initiatives - plus chat to representatives from brands such as Gillette and Oral-B (just make sure your avatar has perfect white teeth).

And South Korea-based SK Group offered visitors a 360-degree video presentation, merging the physical and the digital in its Green Forest Pavilion, which showcased its plans for global carbon reduction.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×