The top 6 tech tools you need on your radar for 2026
From an intelligent 'longevity mirror' to Boston Dynamics' Atlas Robot, CES is the place to be to see the next round of cutting-edge technology. Dr Catherine Ball, an award-winning futurist and company director, was on the ground in Las Vegas, and shares her top six tech tools.
CES is often described as a gadget show, but that's like calling the Great Barrier Reef 'a bit of coral'.
CES is a global diagnostic, revealing what the world thinks is possible, what investors believe is fundable, and what product teams envision as consumer-tolerated in kitchens, cars, and bodies.
This year in Las Vegas, the mood shifted. Less novelty, more infrastructure. Less 'look what my device can do', more 'look what the system can quietly carry for you'. The strongest themes were physical AI, longevity, care, and inclusion. In other words, technology that is finally growing up and being asked to behave like a responsible adult.
Here are my six standout signals from the floor, in the order I think they matter most.
1) LEGO and the return of tangible intelligence
LEGO, with its 'SMART Play' push, including the 'SMART Brick' concept packed with sensors and on-board capability, is a reminder that intelligence is not just computed; it is constructed. We learn through friction, constraints, and the physics of the real world. The future is not screen-first; it is interaction-first. The most future-ready minds will be those who can build, test, and iterate in the real world, not just prompt in the cloud.
If Australia wants a generation that can lead in robotics, climate tech, cybernetics, and space, we should invest harder in play, making, and hands-on systems thinking, not treating it as an optional extra.
2) Atlas robot and the moment robotics stopped asking for applause
Atlas, unveiled by Boston Dynamics with Hyundai's commercialization push, signals a shift in humanoid robotics. It moves from 'look what it can do' to 'what job will it do, safely, every day'. This is not about a single robot; it's about capability catching up to demand. Labour shortages, dangerous work, repetitive tasks, and resilient supply chains are converging. Atlas is a marker that industry is ready for more physical automation, and the best organizations will start planning for mixed teams of humans and machines.
3) NVIDIA and Mercedes: the car becomes a reasoning system
NVIDIA's announcements were significant, but the Mercedes thread was the most important for everyday life. Vehicles are becoming software-defined, AI-defined platforms that can be upgraded over time, not static products that age in your driveway. NVIDIA's DRIVE AV push and Mercedes' MB.OS direction point to an era where driver assistance is less a feature set and more an operating layer, tuned, trained, and updated.
This matters beyond cars. It's a preview of how everything will work: continuously improving systems with embedded AI, wrapped around real-world responsibility. For Australian cities, regional mobility, and logistics, autonomy is not a distant sci-fi debate; it's becoming a procurement and policy reality.
4) Intelligent mirrors for health and longevity
Longevity tech is gaining traction, and the intelligent mirror is becoming a compelling interface. NuraLogix's Longevity Mirror turns a short selfie into health indicators and a score, provoking and confronting. It's a glimpse of consumer health's future: passive data capture, fast interpretation, and behaviour nudges, delivered in the most human place imaginable, the mirror.
We should approach this category with curiosity and caution. Health signals are not destiny, and 'scores' can become anxiety machines if used badly. But the direction is powerful. Health is moving upstream, from hospital drama to everyday prevention. The opportunity for Australia is enormous if we build products and policies that prioritize evidence, privacy, and outcomes over hype.
5) Ambient AI for aged care: quiet tech, big dignity
The most meaningful innovations at CES are often the least flashy. Ambient AI for aged care is one of them. The best examples focus on the environment, passive sensing, and gentle support, helping people live independently for longer while supporting carers and families. Samsung's CES messaging around AI home monitoring and safety is part of this trend, as are specialized 'high privacy' monitoring approaches designed for care settings.
For Australia, this is not a niche; it's national infrastructure. Ageing is a defining challenge and opportunity. Ambient care done well could reduce falls, improve early detection of decline, support workforce gaps, and keep people connected to the community. Done badly, it becomes surveillance theatre. The race is on to do it well.
6) Accessibility haptics, smart glasses, wearables, and Lili
Accessibility had a strong year, shifting from novelty to real capability. CES Innovation Award listings, like the lumen glasses, demonstrate how tactile guidance can support navigation and independence in practical ways. And then there's Lili, a dyslexia-friendly desk screen that uses modulated light technology to make on-screen reading less fatiguing for people with dyslexia. It's a reminder that the future is not only about inventing new things but also making existing things usable for more humans.
Inclusion is not charity; it is performance, productivity, talent retention, and basic decency, which we should treat as a competitive advantage.
A hopeful call to action
Conferences like CES are not junket; they are fieldwork. They are where you can feel the direction of travel before it shows up in your market, workforce, customers, or home. They are also where you build relationships that make the future less scary and more buildable.
If you want to stay ahead of the game, don't outsource your curiosity. Get yourself or your team into global leading conferences. CES, Mobile World Congress, SXSW, Web Summit, COP, the big health and longevity forums, the robotics and defence ecosystem gatherings. Go with intent, set a question before you arrive, and walk the floor like a scientist. Then, bring the insights home and translate them into action.
Australia doesn't need to be a spectator nation; we can be a builder nation. But that requires proximity to the frontier and the humility to keep learning in public. The future is being demoed, debated, and decided in rooms like these. Make sure we are in them.
