AI isn’t just a buzzword at CES 2026. It’s running excavators, reorganizing your kitchen and trying once again to live on your lapel.
Here’s a quick run through the most interesting action from day two in Las Vegas, from Caterpillar’s tie-up with Nvidia to a fresh wave of AI wearables, robotaxis and smart home gear.
Caterpillar turns excavators into ‘robotic companions’ with Nvidia
Caterpillar is testing an AI assistive system, “Cat AI,” in its midsize Cat 306 CR Mini Excavator.
The pilot runs on Nvidia’s new Jetson Thor physical AI platform and is being demoed on the CES show floor.
Deepu Talla, Nvidia’s vice president of robotics and edge AI, framed the move as a big shift for heavy equipment:
- Nvidia has built three computers and open software stacks aimed at “physical AI” developers.
- Caterpillar, which has spent decades building some of the world’s most recognizable machines, is now “building robotic companions,” Talla said onstage.
Caterpillar CEO Joe Creed added that AI will be baked into the company’s processes, saying the construction giant will “use digital twins before we ever cut steel.”
Caterpillar was experimenting with autonomous vehicle tech more than a decade ago, so this pilot fits its long-running interest in automation. The open question is whether Cat AI moves beyond demos into real-world adoption — and whether it actually helps Caterpillar win and keep customers.
Motorola chases the ‘AI pin’ dream
The Humane AI Pin may be dead, but the category isn’t.
Lenovo is testing the waters with an experimental Motorola wearable, codenamed Project Maxwell. It follows startups like Looki and Memories.ai, which also bet on a camera-plus-voice device that lives on your clothing.
Motorola’s concept:
- An AI assistant that continuously hears and captures your surroundings.
- The system then offers recommendations and insights based on what it picks up.
Lenovo didn’t share privacy details — a big red flag for a device that is always listening and recording. For now, Maxwell is only a concept with no commitment to ship, but it shows big OEMs aren’t done with AI pins just yet.
Amazon-owned Bee AI levels up its wearable
Bee AI, the wearable startup Amazon acquired in 2025, is adding more productivity tools on top of its sensor data.
The company says the device now:
- Connects to your email and calendar.
- Drafts an email or creates a calendar event when you tell it to send a message or schedule a meeting.
- Lets you press a button to record voice notes, which sync back to the app.
- Surfaces daily insights and patterns about how you’re feeling, if you wear it continuously.
Despite the acquisition, Bee AI is still sold as a stand-alone product, not just as an Amazon feature.
Waymo’s robotaxis come with door prizes
Waymo is back at CES 2026, showcasing its Jaguar I-Pace and minivan-style Zeekr robotaxis.
The booth is officially the same size as last year, but it feels larger, thanks to a giant rotating “W” and a steady stream of swag hunters.
Waymo has turned its stand into a small game show:
- Attendees swipe their badge and hit a large button.
- A Waymo pin drops out as a prize.
- One special pin unlocks an extra piece of Waymo swag.
The rest of the pins lean into robotaxi culture with sayings like “chill commute,” “backseat driver” and “passenger princess.”
Skylight’s Calendar 2: a family command center
Skylight started life as a digital picture frame. Now it’s building tools to wrangle chaotic family schedules.
At CES, the company unveiled Skylight Calendar 2:
- A new display that sits between the original 15‑inch calendar and the huge 27‑inch wall-mounted Calendar Max.
- A sleeker design that still supports shared calendars, lists, meal planning tools and more.
- Swappable frames in different colors so the hardware matches your décor instead of clashing with it.
The pitch is simple: park this on a wall or counter and let it become the shared source of truth for busy households.
Bloomin8 shrinks its ultra-low-power e‑ink canvas
E‑ink picture frames aren’t new, but Bloomin8 is pushing hard on battery life.
The Bloomin8 E‑ink Canvas — which launched on Kickstarter in March with over 2,000 backers and shipped before Christmas 2025 — is getting a new, smaller size at CES 2026.
What makes it different:
- Ultra-low-power e‑ink display with no backlight and no glow.
- Cordless design, with the company claiming one to three years of battery life instead of weeks.
- Displays your own photos, including from Google Photos, or art of your choice.
- A companion app lets you use AI to generate imagery, schedule when photos change and more.
Current sizes are 13.3 inches and 28.5 inches. A 10‑inch frame is “coming soon” at under $200, turning this into a more approachable purchase than the giant wall art variants.
Nosh wants to be your AI robot chef
On the kitchen side, Nosh is pitching an AI-powered countertop robot that promises to turn batch-prepped ingredients into weeknight meals.
How it works, according to the company:
- You prep ingredients ahead of time and store them in an ingredient tray in your fridge.
- When you’re ready to cook, you slide the tray into the device.
- Spice containers drop into the top, alongside dedicated water and oil containers.
- The app tells you which ingredients go in which compartment for each of the 500+ recipes.
- The system can tweak dishes to dietary preferences, like low sodium or less spicy.
About 45 minutes later, Nosh serves up a single-pot meal.
There are caveats:
- Not every dish can be automated this way.
- The hardware is big, at around 16 inches high and about 22 inches wide — a serious chunk of counter space.
Nosh is set to launch on Kickstarter on February 1 with a $25 buy-in and an early-backer price of $1,200. The company lists a $2,000 MSRP and expects to ship 60 days after the campaign goes live.
Hollywood isn’t ready to hand the camera to AI
AI is everywhere in entertainment talk tracks at CES, but it’s not ready to replace actors — at least not yet.
Jonathan Yunger, co-founder and CEO of Arcana, an “AI production company in a box,” described a sharp mood shift in the past year:
- Twelve months ago, studios were rejecting the idea of AI-led production.
- Now, he’s being invited in to consult on how to use AI on sets.
Still, Yunger argued that human performances remain central:
- Actors are “selling an emotion,” something AI currently can’t convincingly do.
- He expects a blend of AI tools, real actors, volume screens and good old blue screens.
- In his view, AI is closer to “almost replacing visual effects to an extent” than replacing humans on screen.
The rest of the CES 2026 backdrop
Beyond these highlights, day two at CES has settled into dealmaking mode. Much of the major news dropped on day one, including:
- Keynotes from Siemens, Lenovo and All-In podcast co-host Jason Calacanis, who interviewed McKinsey’s Bob Sternfels and General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja.
- A $900 million Mobileye acquisition.
- A wave of new products from Ring.
- A key milestone from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which installed the first magnet in its Sparc fusion reactor.
The show runs through Friday, and there’s still plenty of room for more strange, ambitious and occasionally useful AI hardware to emerge from the halls of Las Vegas.
