Urban skis and a robot pet spa — the strangest new tech at CES

The technology show CES may be dominated by the big business of TVs, computers, chips and cars, but the colour and soul is provided by the start-ups seeking funding for their innovations.

Sometimes, however, their pitches stray into the bizarre. Here are some of the more left-field ideas that were on display in Las Vegas this week.

Billing itself as the world’s first silent mask, Skyted looks like a high-tech human muzzle. This $299 device that connects to your phone is designed to enable you to have discreet conversations in public places with its “no noise in, no voice out” technology. It is, however, huge, and will probably trigger traumatic memories of the pandemic. Whatever happened to the whisper?

The ultimate spa for your pet…

You can give your pooch a wash and blow dry in 15 minutes with XidoPet’s robot bath, which analyses your dog’s weight, heart rate, blood pressure and skin condition, while it gets the full spa treatment. Designed to take the mess and stress out of dog bathing, it’s like a canine car wash and is designed for use by pet stores.

…followed by day in front of the telly

Now that your mutt is fresh and clean, how about giving it a session in front of the TV watching Dogflix? A South Korean company has developed Dogsplay, a media centre where it can watch telly, listen to music, look at photos and even keep in touch with you through video conferencing when you’re out. Its marketing lays on the guilt trip: “One year for us is seven years for them, and vacating the house for ten hours can feel like three days.”

Hi-tech pepper spray

Some enterprising students from Michigan State University have developed a location-sharing pepper spray. The keyring attachment with quick release from Triple4’s enables its user to disable their attacker and alert the police in one move. It even has refillable cartridges. British customers take note: when the police turn up they could arrest you as the spray is illegal in the UK.

Gaming in luxury

For those wanting to play Fortnite in the lap of luxury, Razer has teamed up with Dolce & Gabbana to release this $2,999 gaming chair. If you think it’s absurd, they’ve already sold out, proving there is a market for everything.

The music-playing jewellery

Fashion also meets tech with the first wireless earphones embedded in earrings.

The Nova H1 audio pearl earrings mean you can go to the ball and still listen to that all-important podcast.

But then again, maybe save some time to disconnect from the network.

Urban skiing

Forget electric scooters or bikes — for the urban adventurers with an insatiable need for speed, try out these electric skis that boast a top speed of 80km/h.