CES 2026 offered a preview of what companies said is moving from screens and prototypes to products that can sense, learn and interact, with many demos built around physical AI, robotics and automation. The annual technology trade show in Las Vegas highlighted a mix of consumer gadgets, home products and transportation concepts, alongside more experimental systems.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking at the show, said: “The ChatGPT moment for physical AI is here.” Robots were a frequent sight on the CES floor, ranging from humanoid helpers to task-specific machines and more playful companions.
Lego used the show to lean into fan nostalgia while positioning its next step for connected play. The company introduced Lego Smart Play on Monday, describing it as a platform built around connected bricks, tags and specially designed minifigures in partnership with Star Wars. Lego said the smart bricks include sensors that detect light and distance, triggering coordinated lights and sounds when bricks are used together to bring builds to life, and that the platform can support interactive scenes such as space battles or lightsaber duels.
Another product focused on a throwback physical interface: Clicks Technology showcased a magnetic QWERTY phone keyboard that clips onto phones. Co-founder Jeff Gadway said the company’s Power Keyboard is “one keyboard for all your smart devices.” The company described it as featuring a full QWERTY layout, including directional keys and a number row, and said it also doubles as a wireless power bank.
For TVs, LG presented an OLED model from its Wallpaper line that it described as extremely thin. LG announced the OLED evo W6, and the report said the screen is 9 millimeters thick, with a design described as displaying video nearly edge-to-edge without rolling up. LG said the TV’s inputs are housed in a nearby box and that representatives claim 4K video and audio can stream seamlessly to the screen. LG did not provide pricing at the show, and said it will offer the model in 77- and 83-inch sizes.
In robotics and cleaning, Roborock introduced the Saros Rover, a vacuum designed to tackle stairs by using chicken-like legs to move up and down. The report said Roborock has claimed the robot can traverse almost any stairwell style, including spiraled and curved staircases. Roborock did not provide a release date and said the Rover is still in development.
Razer pitched a wearable concept that blends over-ear headphones with functionality often associated with smart glasses. The company demonstrated Project Motoko by having its host ask the AI-powered headset to translate a Japanese restaurant menu into English and to search information on The Associated Press. Razer said the headset uses built-in cameras and microphones, and that the base AI model is up to the user, with support described as including ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. While Razer said Project Motoko is being developed largely as a consumer product, the company also said it could be sold to businesses to gather data to train AI models, adding that consumer data retrieved from the headphones would not be sold for training and that enterprise sales would be siloed from consumer sales.
Not all CES projects were aimed at faster tasks. VHEX Lab showcased SITh.XRaedo, an immersive extended-reality grief therapy platform. The company said SITh.XRaedo creates a virtual avatar from a single photo and is guided in real time by a trained XR therapist, and that users wearing a virtual reality headset can speak with the avatar, which responds through speech, nods, smiles and other gestures. VHEX Lab said the platform is designed to help people process grief and find closure, and said it won a digital health innovation award at CES.
In personal mobility, Strutt demonstrated the EV1 self-driving chair. The report said volunteers sat blindfolded during a demo and rode through a small course without active control, as the chair senses its surroundings and navigates on its own. Strutt CEO and founder Tony Hong told AP that the EV1 has a full suite of sensors that helps it avoid bumps, walls, people and other obstacles, adjusting in real time as it drives.
CES also featured more human-like robotics aimed at companionship. Ollobot pitched a rolling, purple cyber pet called OlloNi, which the company said is built to feel warm and expressive rather than rigid. The report said OlloNi uses a screen mounted at its neck to make eye contact and cycle through thousands of animated expressions meant to mirror human emotion and interaction, and that passersby stopped to watch and laugh when its digital eyes popped open after someone scratched the fuzzy “ears.”
In transportation, Uber returned to the robotaxi conversation at CES by previewing an upcoming self-driving vehicle developed with luxury EV maker Lucid Motors and autonomous technology company Nuro. Uber said it is targeting what it called the most premium robotaxi yet, with cameras, sensors and radar for full 360-degree awareness. The report said the vehicle has a low-profile roof “halo” with LED screens showing a rider’s initials and ride status, and that it includes in-car customization such as temperature, seat heating and music, along with on-screen visuals showing what the vehicle sees and the route it plans to follow in real time.
The companies said on-road testing led by Nuro began in the San Francisco area last month, as they work toward launching the service before the end of the year.
Associated Press journalists Aya Diab, Jessica Hill and Ty ONeil contributed to the report from Las Vegas.