CES 2019: Bread robots, bendy phones, talking toilets and everything else from day 1

An autonomous robot that can make bread, a phone that can transform into a tablet, and a talking toilet are among the gadgets on show at the world’s biggest technology show.

The BreadBot, made by US firm the Wilkinson Baking Company, can mix, proof and bake bread on its own and can produce a loaf every six minutes once up to full speed.

It appeared at the CES Unveiled preview show, which offered an early glimpse of the gadgets going on display when the conference opens on Tuesday 8 January.

The FlexPai foldable phone, built by Chinese startup Royole, is capable of folding from 0 to 180 degrees in order to function as both a tablet and a smartphone.

Royole is billing the device as "the world's first commercial foldable smartphone", with a developer model currently available for pre-order at £1,209.

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One of the key themes of CES 2019 is the smart home, with manufacturers keen to promote products that integrate apps and voice assistants.

The idea of the smart home revolution is to make household staples like lightbulbs and appliances easier to use and more functional, and the latest domestic domain set to be conquered appears to be the bathroom.

American plumbing company Kohler, which has been building appliances since 1873, has come up with a talking toilet that comes complete with a artificial intelligence voice assistant.

The Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet offers a "fully immersive experience" thanks to its Alexa-enabled smart speakers.

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The show has not been without its issues, having been hit by the US government shutdown which has led to several government speakers cancelling their appearances at the annual event.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA). who organise the trade show, confirmed that multiple government officials, including those from the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Homeland Security, would not be at the event.

The convention is expected to draw more than 180,000 visitors and is one of the biggest dates in the tech industry calendar, where new gadgets from the likes of Sony and Samsung are unveiled alongside discussions around key subjects such as artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous vehicles.

On the US government withdrawals, CTA president Gary Shapiro said: “Because of the government shutdown, some of our scheduled government speakers at CES 2019 have alerted us that they must cancel their travel to the show.

“As a result, some of our scheduled CES 2019 programming and speakers will change. We urge attendees who planned to hear US federal government speakers to check the sessions on the website to ensure those individuals are still speaking.”

The UK is set to be represented at the event by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, where he is leading a delegation of 100 British companies, the largest UK presence at the show to date.

He will use his time at the show to promote the UK as a leader in technology and a destination for inward investment.

Other gadgets unveiled ahead of the official CES 2019 opening include a wearable sticker built by L'Oreal that can detect pH levels to help prevent skin conditions, a solar-powered smart watch and Samsung's new 75-inch television made of modular micro LED panels.