CES some crazy gadgets

Advertisement CES is known for having some crazy gadgets. This year is no exception.

The CES show this year is as packed as ever with gizmos and gadgets for use in just about everything -- from beauty to security. In 2.4 million net square feet of exhibit space, it's hard to stand out from the pack. But here are some gadgets from major firms that made my jaw drop.

It may look like a spaceship, but Faraday Future believes this is the future of automobiles. Richard Kim, Head of Design for Faraday Future, shows off their concept model, and explains how plugging in different phones changes the entire car itself. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post)
Okay, so maybe you don't normally think of cars as being technology gadgets. But there's a reason that the FFZero1 -- a concept racing car from the new car company Faraday Future -- made its debut at CES and not at a traditional car show. This EV is packed with the philosophies of the tech world. For example, the steering wheel is designed so that you can pop your smartphone right into it. The car will use the phone to remember your preferences for the seat position or how you like your pedals when you're headed around the track. Other features, such as a totally digital dashboard, are both beautiful and functional.

The FFZero1 is just a concept, but the company has said it will be releasing a consumer model that pulls some of the features from this car sometime soon.


Another conceptual venture, the Samsung modular display brings separate screens together seamlessly to form larger ones of varying sizes. At the company's booth, there was a beautiful a 170-inch screen on the wall that you could never tell was actually several screens mashed together. You have to get close -- very close -- to see the lines.

Of course, it's not going to be that easy for the average consumer to use effectively as it is right now. Samsung has some sort of sliding, gliding wall set up on the floor to show it off in its full glory, which definitely isn't a feature in most homes. But the possibilities of being able to join screens together without even noticing they're separate displays is pretty cool, if Samsung ever takes this concept to market.

Samsung "Family Hub" refrigerator
Another Samsung product is the Family Hub refrigerator, which skirts the fine line between goofy and amazing. The main feature of this fridge is the large touchscreen embedded on the door, which is designed to take the place of the normal mess of photo cards and sticky notes that are probably on the fridge in your kitchen. In addition, the fridge will also be able to pair with your phone to get calendar updates. It will also be able to stream music and even let you watch TV, according to representatives at the company's booth.

The most-talked about feature, however, may be the cameras on the inside of the door. These take a picture of the contents of your fridge each time you shut the door. So, if you're at the store and want to know whether you need to pick up another gallon of milk, you can just check it out on your phone. The fridge is expected to get a U.S. launch in the spring.

LG Display's rollable screen
Back into the conceptual world, LG surprised show attendees with an 18-inch display so thin that you can actually roll it up like a newspaper, similar to a concept it introduced in 2014. The screen is a "30R" display, meaning it be can rolled into a circle with a radius of 30 mm without harming it.

As you can see in the video above, the company is still at the stages where only trained employees wearing gloves are allowed to bend the screen -- in other words, this technology isn't coming to any gadget you could buy this year. But the idea of a bendable screen has lots of implications for how screens could fit around curves, and provide a way to make larger displays more portable. Advertisement