The 9 Weirdest Tech Gadgets In History

Top 9 weirdest tech gadgets in history

We've all got a device, or devices, that we couldn't live without. Phones, laptops, washing machines, and even smart watches have become integral parts of many people's lives.

But with ingenious and useful inventions, you'll also get the odd piece of tech that makes us think: "but why?". These products can often be very entertaining to read about, and sometimes downright hilarious.

So, we've put together a list of the top 9 weirdest tech gadgets of all time. Keep reading to have your mind either blown or baffled.

List of top 9 weirdest tech gadgets in history

9. The Somnox

8. Clocky Rolling Alarm Clock

7. Self-driving suitcase

6. Skyroam Solis X

5. The Smart Belt

4. Hatch Baby Changing Pad

3. The Quoobo

2. The Pavlok

1. The HushMe

Detailed information on top 9 weirdest tech gadgets in history

9. The Somnox

Photo: Somnox

The Somnox was created by four engineering students in the Netherlands who, in their course of study, were left “personally exposed to the effects of sleep deprivation.”. They put the Somnox on Kickstarter in 2017, offering better sleep in exchange for €100,000 (about $113,000) in crowdfunding. The internet, desperate to wake up feeling more rested, doubled their goal within a month.

Like other gadgets in the category of sleep tech, the Somnox calls attention to the fact that we could all afford to improve our sleep. It is no longer enough to simply pull up the covers, close your eyes, and wake up eight hours later. (If you think you’re sleeping just fine on your own, well, strap on a sleep tracker and think again.) But unlike other pieces of sleep tech—headbands that futz with your brainwaves, or mattresses that adjust their temperature throughout the night—the Somnox offers its solution with minimal intervention. You simply turn it on, hold it against your chest, and snuggle it to sleep.

Setting up the Somnox takes no more than a minute. The robot pairs with a companion app, which lets you manage the breathing preferences. Using factors like gender, age, and body mass index, the app predicts a comfortable breathing tempo, and then allows you to fine-tune until the pace feels right. You can also adjust the duration of breathing, from five to 90 minutes each night, and choose from three settings—Nap, Sleep, and Relax—which slightly vary the cadence of breath.

8. Clocky Rolling Alarm Clock

Photo: Amazon

Sleepyheads around the world have developed a host of tricks to wake themselves up. Some use extra loud alarm clocks or set a handful of different devices to go off at once. And yet, so many of us still end up snoozing — and then dashing to work at a sprint.

Meet Clocky, the alarm clock on wheels. Clocky goes off at the appointed time... but that's where the normal part ends. If you don’t get up, it rolls off your bedside table and starts zooming around your room, beeping like mad. You’ve got to get out of bed and track the little guy down to turn it off—at which point we pretty much guarantee you’ll be wide awake.

Clocky can handle up to a three-foot fall and lets you customize the snooze time (ie: how long you have before it rolls away). There’s a backlight, so you can check the time at night, and the clock’s runaway feature can be turned off if you ever want a more low-key morning.

7. Self-driving suitcase

Photo: The New Idian Express

Trying to navigate through busy airports while wheeling around luggage can be tricky at times, but self-driving robotics company ForwardX is looking to change that with its new luggage, Ovis.

Equipped with computer vision technology, Ovis is the world’s first vision-powered carry-on that can not only follow you from behind, but can also move autonomously by your side, company representatives claim.

The carbon fiber suitcase is also equipped with sensors that allow it to follow you at a speed of almost 7 miles per hour without running into anything, while route projection technology helps it recognize its path.

Ovis' features are similar to what you’ll find from Cowarobot, an autonomous carry-on that can follow you from behind and by your side if you're wearing a bracelet, but with Ovis, no wearable technology is required.

If you do want to use your phone with Ovis, however, you can check the weight of your luggage with the Ovis app.

The bag also comes with a real-time GPS location tracker in case you lose it, and a smart alarm to alert you if it falls too far behind you.

6. Skyroam Solis X

Photo: Travel + Leisure

The Solis X is a small, highlighter orange hockey puck-sized device that weighs 11 ounces and measures 3.5 inches by 1.25 inches. Slim (like its predecessor, it can fit in your pocket with ease) and simply designed, it comes with one USB-C to USB adapter, a USB charging cable, and instructions on how to use the device and set up the application into your iOS or Android device. It also provides enough power for the Solis X to attach to 4G and LTE. Spitting out a Wi-Fi network for up to 10 devices for around 16 hours, its internal 4,700mAh battery can be shared via USB-C. A USB-C to USB-A adaptor is supplied in the box, which is a nice touch. The battery can be used as a power bank to charge your phone but, just a heads up, it charges rather slowly at 5V/1A. One of the best parts about the Solis X is its simplicity: As in, it has only one button for use. Beyond a single recessed power button on its top, the device has a white lined battery indicator and three different indicator lights to establish data transmission and connection. It is that easy. There is also an 8MP camera, used for, as the company describes, those “candid moments," which I doubt anyone will use. I sure did not. But that’s not where this device’s strengths lie. The Solis X is the Cadillac of MyFi's, the first on-the-go smart Wi-Fi ‘Smart Spot’ with a built-in smart assistant powered by IFTTT. Like most intelligent assistants, you can use it to purchase an additional unlimited internet day, month, or pay as you go per gigabyte via your voice. All you do is activate a deal, and it begins counting down the 24 hours or the data. Rest assured, Skyroam has 300 carrier partners worldwide and promises to always use the network offering the fastest connection wherever you are.

5. The Smart Belt

Photo: New Atlas

Welt is the brainchild of CEO Sean G. Kang, a medical doctor who tells me he was instrumental in adding heart-rate sensors to Samsung flagship smartphones. He saw an opportunity to raise awareness of a key health predictor, and Samsung's C-Lab (along with some crowdfunding) helped make it happen.

While Welt can track your daily steps, along with estimating distance traveled, sitting time and calories burned, this isn't the product's bread-and-butter. A wrist-based tracker will show more steps taken (Welt doesn't start logging steps until it counts 20 or more in one session), while giving you live stats with just a glance at your wrist. With Welt, you need to open the companion smartphone app to see your fitness logs.

Where the product springs into relevance is with waist measurements. When you put on the belt, magnetic sensors detect the size of your waist and track any changes over time.

4. Hatch Baby Changing Pad

Photo: Youtube

The Hatch Baby Changing Pad itself is a pretty simple device. Essentially, it's a comfortable changing pad for your baby. The two features that make it "smart" are a scale built into the bottom, and a small touchscreen on the front. Using these features, you can weigh your baby to track his or her growth. You can then send that information (or any other manually recorded eating or waste data) to the Hatch Baby app via the touchscreen.

The app is where the real smarts come in. From your iOS or Android device you can track your baby's patterns, and display them in helpful graphics. For instance, once you've been tracking your child for some time, you can check their daily schedule to get an idea of when might be a good time to run out to the store with them, or when you might want to be ready with a bottle, some wipes and a diaper. Ostensibly, this data will help you get a handle on what can be a crazy time in life.

3. The Quoobo

Photo: The Kickstarter

This innovation, straight out of Japan, was presented at CEATAC in early October. When I tell you about a strange cat robot, it's because it has no head, no legs, no claws or moustaches but simply a body and a tail that moves. All covered with hair as soft as a real cat.

This robot is not intended to play or teach you anything but simply to make you feel better. Depending on your caresses and gestures towards him, he will have different reactions: vibration, purring, wagging of the tail. The more you caress him, the more vivid his reactions will be.

This therapeutic robot, a highly developed axis in Japan, was created by Yukai Engineering Co., Ltd. This Tokyo-based company, founded in 2007, specializes in the development, manufacture and sale of communication robots such as its flagship models: the BOCCO family robot, which sends notifications on smartphones to bring relatives closer together, or Konashi 2.0, a toolbox for iPhone and iPad.

2. The Pavlok

Photo: KnowTechie

Pavlok Wristband is one of the world’s first wearable gadgets that will help you fight your daily bad habits to the point that you have completely given it up. This device lets you programme and trigger shocks to your wrist, which will then signal your brain to re-think your desire and move away from the bad habit. It is a simple concept that has been revolutionised and is also scientifically proven to work in as little as 1 week of using it.

Some of the key features of this unique Gadget include its Fluctuation of power and Integration with Smartphone’s. Although this may not be all the features offered by this product, collectively these specific features make this a solid piece of tech that will change your quality of life by removing the unwanted habits you crave or desire for.

What makes this gadget unique is the actual concept of breaking out of your bad habits. This is one of the worlds 1st wearable gadgets that are specifically designed to tackle the struggle of fighting out of your bad habits. Which considering is a scientifically proven and tested product makes this product truly unique in how it will improve your health and quality of life.

1. The HushMe

Photo: VR Zone

This device is not for punishment, nor was it designed to deny you pleasure. It is, however, meant to preserve the quality of life of the people around you... especially if you work in open offices like some of us at Engadget do. The Hushme works as a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, but the real draw is the voice mask attached to them -- they snap together in front of your mouth thanks to some surprisingly strong magnets, allowing you to take your phone calls in relative peace and quiet.

Even better, there are ways two ways that your conversations are shielded from the world at large. A pair of thick cushy pads does a decent job muffling your voice, but the Hushme team added a series of sounds that play through some external speakers to obscure things even further. I know what you're thinking: Wouldn't that also disrupt the peace and quiet around you? You bet! Normally that would be a dealbreaker for a device tailor-made to keep the decibels down, but the list of available and forthcoming sounds might make the whole thing worth it.

For instance, a Hushme staffer at the company's CES booth strapped on the headset and let the sounds of some R2-D2-style beeping drown out his explanation of the company's plans. Heavy, Darth Vader-ish breathing is a potential option too, as are more soothing choices like the sound of rain or a gentle wind.

What's more, Hushme reps floated the idea of straight-up voice changing as a possibility, which is thematically a little silly when you consider the device's goals.

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