The Five Weirdest AI Inventions I Saw at CES 2026

AI remains to be the massive factor within the tech world, but it surely’s not the massive new factor. It has been round lengthy sufficient that merely integrating it into your product is not sufficient to make it stand out anymore, particularly on the greatest tech present on this planet. Whereas I attended this 12 months’s CES, the development I observed time and again on the present ground was that AI is getting bizarre now. From private hologram sidekicks to a gaming monitor that mainly cheats for you, listed below are the 5 weirdest AI innovations I noticed at CES 2026.

Razer is supplying you with your individual private anime woman

Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt

Eventually 12 months’s CES, gaming life-style firm Razer launched Challenge AVA, an AI esports coach idea that was only a disembodied voice that lives in your laptop computer. Yawn. This 12 months, the corporate’s increasing on that by bringing AVA into the true world.

In Razer’s suite this 12 months, I held a dialog with “Kira,” an anime woman “hologram” that lives in slightly USB tube you’ll be able to plug into your laptop computer. She observed my orange sweater due to a digital camera put in within the tube, earlier than asking me in regards to the present and prompting me to start out up a spherical of Battlefield 6, the place she gave me some generic loadout recommendation. I spoke along with her utilizing microphones additionally constructed into her tube, and he or she responded utilizing her personal speaker relatively than the laptop computer’s. Razer mentioned this demo was extra directed, therefore why she introduced up gaming straight away, however that the tip aim is to let the brand new AVA work as a convincing all-purpose AI companion, so you do not have to make use of it for under play.

To that finish, the corporate says it is “AI agnostic,” so you’ll be able to plug your individual mannequin into it. The demo I ran by was clearly utilizing Grok, and customarily felt rather a lot like speaking to the AI companions constructed into that app, proper all the way down to the cringeworthy jokes. However Razer mentioned you would theoretically use ChatGPT or Gemini as an alternative.

Whereas we had been chatting, Kira performed animations courtesy of Animation Inc., which powers related however extra app-driven AI companions. In different phrases, the chatbot and the animations aren’t actually new right here, so what you would be shopping for could be the USB tube and the characters.

Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt

Kira is not your solely choice for an AI companion right here—she’s a typical anime gamer woman, however I additionally obtained to briefly have a look at Zane, a tattooed muscle man within the deepest V-neck I’ve ever seen. You possibly can sort of see the target market for each of those characters straight away, however in order for you one thing extra tame, you can too have your tube show Razer’s brand surrounded by an audio waveform, which merely goes by AVA (though the mission as an entire remains to be referred to as AVA). And the corporate’s additionally engaged on superstar likenesses, with esports star Faker and influencer Sao having already given their approval.

Razer mentioned it is nonetheless engaged on determining the way it’ll distribute these characters, and I used to be informed you’d get a bundle of them along with your buy, however would most likely be capable of purchase extra down the road.

As for pricing and availability, no phrase on that. That is technically nonetheless an idea, so it would return to the drafting board once more. However Razer’s web site does say it is hoping for a launch within the second half of 2026, and which you can put $20 down now to reserve your unit.

Briefly, for those who strip away the performance that is already baked into apps you’ll be able to obtain now, the brand new Challenge Ava is mainly a speaking hologram toy to your desk. That is nonetheless not a foul pitch, however sadly, I am undecided if hologram is the correct phrase for this. Kira appeared fairly flat to me, much less like that one Princess Leia projection and extra like she was displaying on a standard clear display screen that simply occurred to be caught inside a cylinder. I do not suppose the novelty fairly matches the pitch but.

The gaming headset that makes use of AI to learn your thoughts

Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt

Each time I play a aggressive sport, as an alternative of hopping proper right into a match, I as an alternative load up into a number of follow classes to heat up. It is useful, however time consuming. The brand new Neurable x HyperX idea headset is hoping to vary that by serving to you lock in inside just some minutes.

Primarily, it seems like a standard gaming headset, however constructed into the earcups are varied sensors that may supposedly learn your focus ranges. These are just like the brain-computer interfaces you might need seen in sci-fi reveals, those with a bunch of wires and discs hooked up to them, however shrunken down for the patron market, with no creepy wires in sight.

That is the place the AI is available in. Shrinking down the sensors a lot does imply this headset will get fewer readings than the larger ones in labs, however Neurable claims its fashions are nonetheless in a position to choose up on developments in these readings and translate them into helpful knowledge, whereas additionally throwing out junk knowledge.

For players, which means it might probably run you thru a fast focus train referred to as “Prime,” the place you focus whereas noticing a cloud of dots shrink right into a stable orb. As soon as that is executed, which took about 90 seconds for me, you are supposedly centered up and able to play.

Sadly, I really did worse in a follow capturing sport after focusing than beforehand, however that does not imply the information was ineffective. I ran by the train with a colleague whose rating improved by perhaps a few third after focusing, and with such a small pattern dimension, there could possibly be any variety of causes I choked after focusing up. The corporate mentioned that it may even be useful to follow choking on this means.

Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt

And at any charge, numbers are enjoyable. That is why I am most excited in regards to the headset’s plug-in for streamers, which permits them to point out their focus ranges on display screen for his or her chat to see. I may simply think about a neighborhood taking a look at that knowledge and teasing their favourite streamer to attempt to distract them.

That mentioned, it’s going to be some time till you’ll be able to really purchase this. It is nonetheless an idea for now, with no pricing or promise of launch. Nevertheless, Neurable does have already got an analogous, non-gaming headset made with Grasp & Dynamic that will be shipping out soon, simply with out this software program. For extra, read my full article here.

Lenovo’s laptop computer can nod if you ask it a query

Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt

This one is extra of a {hardware} innovation, but it surely’s a intelligent contact. This CES, Lenovo launched a laptop computer with a motorized hinge that may robotically shut, open, and even rotate from side-to-side. It’s going to be coming out later this summer, however whereas the corporate was demonstrating the unit to me, it additionally confirmed off a prototype chatbot app it is making for it. This makes use of ChatGPT for now, and remains to be only a idea and won’t ship with the laptop computer. However it was cute.

Primarily, whereas I talked with the app, the laptop computer displayed an enormous pair of animated eyes on display screen, and used its hinge to nod or shake its head no once I requested it questions. It additionally displayed small animations in response to sure questions, like exhibiting an umbrella once I requested in regards to the wet climate.

It is nonetheless very early days, however I used to be impressed that the {hardware} was in a position to acknowledge what an affirmative reply was and set off the laptop computer to reply accordingly. A number of AI feels fairly disconnected from the true world, so something that may give it a bodily presence might be a good suggestion in order for you folks to take it critically.

The Lenovo AI gaming monitor that is mainly dishonest

Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt

Additionally proven off at CES this 12 months, Lenovo’s AI Body gaming monitor might be probably the most virtually helpful merchandise on this record, virtually to the purpose the place it looks like dishonest. Primarily, this fills up a lot of the 21:9 display screen with a daily 16:9 view of no matter’s in your laptop, and makes use of AI to point out a zoomed-in have a look at vital sport info on the remainder.

For example, in a demo exhibiting a MOBA sport (suppose League of Legends), the monitor zoomed in on the map. In a demo exhibiting Counter-Strike 2, it zoomed in on the reticle. Personally, I did not suppose getting a blown-up have a look at the map was all that useful, however having the ability to always see what was basically a sniper scope round my reticle was a sport changer, because it labored with any gun and made targets a lot simpler to see.

I may see Counter-Strike 2 developer Valve go so far as banning this if it ever makes its strategy to market, because it’s taken similar actions before. However that is nonetheless simply an thought for now. Nonetheless, it reveals that firms are beginning to determine concrete methods AI may also help you in your video games, past simply feeding you recommendation you most likely already know.

XREAL’s new AR glasses can robotically convert any 2D content material into 3D

Credit score: Michelle Ehrhardt

Lastly, most likely my favourite AI invention at CES this 12 months was XREAL’s new REAL 3D expertise. Constructed into its newest AR glasses and already added to an current pair by way of a firmware replace, this makes use of AI to robotically discover depth in any 2D video supply and convert it into 3D. And attempting it out for myself, it virtually appeared official.

Once I used it to play Mario Kart World, I’d have believed you for those who informed me Nintendo had added this mode itself. It additionally labored nice with James Cameron’s Avatar, and there was no loading time to set it up or flip it off. There additionally wasn’t any fuzziness, like there could be with glasses-free 3D screens just like the 3DS.

It is a terrific choice for individuals who like watching 3D video games and films, however might need hassle discovering them now that 3D TVs and the Nintendo 3DS are principally previously. Now, you’ll be able to simply watch your current 2D library, however in 3D.

The one problem you may come throughout is in content material that does not have depth. For example, XREAL’s Ralph Jodice informed me the software program did not fairly know what to do when he tried taking part in the unique 8-bit Tremendous Mario Bros. with it, and would randomly emphasize solely sure sport property with none rhyme or cause. An phantasm of depth does appear to work, although. Tremendous Mario Bros. is completely flat, however once I tried watching the pen-and-paper animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with this expertise, it accurately separated characters within the foreground from surroundings within the background, though all the pieces on display screen was completely hand-drawn.