Here at Gizmodo we’re big fans of IFA. Not only is it Europe’s biggest tech show where some of the best announcements of the year are made… it’s where you can find some of the more unique products that the tech world has to offer.
Suffice to say, we were on the prowl for the quirky stuff. These were our favourites.
The Playbrush
This isn’t just any electric toothbrush — it’s one that encourages kids to brush properly through gamification.
In the above picture, the more you brush the more the drawing gets coloured in.
It comes with 11 different games as well as a technique teacher to get children brushing for a full two minutes.
I kinda want one…
UBTECH Football Robots
Yep, these are humanoid robots that are designed to play football. This one looks rather aggressive.
You control the robots entirely through a tablet, including movement and kicking. I was very bad at it.
Perhaps most interesting of all is that UBTECH actually have a partnership with Manchester United and apparently fans love it.
ICAROS Virtual Reality Fitness Experience
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That’s right, this mob has brought VR and gamification to the world of fitness.
It’s pretty simple – you climb up into the ICAROS gyroscopic machine and pop on a VR headset.
You then get to choose from multiple games that require you to move your body on the machine, thus giving yourself a workout.
I personally went for an airborn game where I had to move my body in order to fly through varying sized rings.
If you manage to get through the smaller ones (which requires more precision of movement) you get more points.
Yeah, my lack of abs absolutely felt the burn.
Retro Music Players
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The renewed popularity of record players has being going on for awhile now, but what about tape decks, CD players and an old school wireless?
I’m a heathen when it comes to music, but I love the aesthetic of these. And let’s face it, that boom box absolutely appeals to the 90s kid in me.
Segway Robot
Yes, it’s a segway robot. It’s called Loomo and it’s as cute as it is terrifying.
Loomo is a little personal transporter that can auto-follow you and capture video. It can recognise objects, faces and voices as well as avoid obstacles.
Developers are also able to give Loomo further capabilities, so I guess these little fellas will be our lords and masters in a few years time.
Acer’s Predator Thronos
This bad boy was only at IFA on press day and sadly I didn’t get a chance to give it a whirl.
And while this moving, tactile gaming cockpit with its three screens is going to be way outside the budget of ordinary folk, I do love the fact that it exists.
Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Edge
B&O’s speaker collaboration with designer Michael Anastassiades was one of the main talking points of the show.
Not only is it stunning, it offers a unique control experience. This begins with the proximity sensors which only lights up the touch interface once you get in range of it.
As for volume control, you do this by rolling the speaker forwards and backwards. A gentle movement will change it moderately while a stronger one will be more aggressive.
It really is a fascinating piece of tech that is just as much the centre piece of a room as it is a speaker.