Geeks and gadgets galore gathered at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as companies showed off their latest technology.
Many of the gadgets were concepts that will never go into production, but the event is traditionally a showcase for companies to give the rest of us a hint about the technology we will be using tomorrow.
This year, some of the leading innovation was in fitness, 3D printing, self-drive cars and robots.
As the show closed car giants Renault and Nissan announced a link-up which will see 10 driverless models for the USA, Europe, China and Japan.
The first car will launch later this year with a limiter that only allows the vehicle to keep to a single lane on multiple lane roads.
By 2018, cars with technology that can handle multiple lanes and heavy traffic will come off the line.
Droids, 3D printers and 4k cameras
The show also saw a glut of wearable technology for fitness, including trainers that keep track of movement, heart and blood pressure monitors.
Watches linking to smartphones, tablets and earphones were popular with several manufacturers, including electronic giant Samsung.
Another wearable gadget is a wristband that allows users to control a Star Wars BB-8 toy droid with swipes and gestures.
Sony has developed light bulbs that also act as Bluetooth speakers among a huge raft of products, including headphones, TVs and cameras.
Nikon, the camera maker, miniaturised a 360 degree 4k video camera that is water and shock proof to record tough outdoor activities.
A new 3D printer that can sculpt intricate paper and cardboard models in full colour was one of the hits of the show.
The Mcor Arke printer creates colour models at a resolution of 4,800 x 2,400 dpi.
Clever but what’s the point?
Among the clever but ‘what’s the point’ collection was a fridge by LG that has a door that turns see-through with a touch.
The company claims this saves energy as people do not have to open the door and lose cold air when checking fridge contents.
Pets can join the fun as well, with fitness trackers and even a games console with built-in food bowl.
Then there’s the HairMax LaserBand- a headset that ‘encourages’ hair to thicken by shooting controlled laser pulses into the scalp.
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