CES 2026 showcases Europe’s hardware renaissance

This week CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, kicks off in Las Vegas.  It's a truly mammoth event, encompassing a myriad of venues and side events. 

While there’s the usual suite of wearables and gadgets sure to end up in your junk drawer within the year due to product failure or inactivity, there’s a whole lot of practical tech that you’d actually buy worth checking out.

IoT, in particular, while ubiquitous in its quiet reach, has seen a sizable boost in capacity due to advancements in AI, hardware, and edge intelligence, but there’s also plenty happening in battery, industrial tech, and robotics.

And Europe is showing up with the intent to demonstrate how connected hardware is maturing into real-world infrastructure.  

Allergen Alert (France)

Allergen Alert is a portable device that directly detects allergens or gluten in a meal with laboratory-level precision. It enables people with food allergies or celiac disease to test their food autonomously, wherever they are.

Unlike barcode scanners or apps attempting to interpret a photo of a dish, this pocket-sized mini-lab relies on a patented, single-use pouch derived from bioMérieux’s laboratory technologies, which miniaturises and automates every step of a professional analytical test. 

How it works: Collect a food sample, insert the single-use pouch into the device, and press the button to start the analysis. Within minutes, you’ll receive a clear, easy-to-understand result indicating whether an allergen or gluten is present.

The mini-lab is being developed in collaboration with allergists, allergy patients and advocacy groups, as well as experts in food safety and the restaurant industry.   

Thanks to automated sample preparation, future applications could extend well beyond allergens, including broader food analysis, water testing, environmental monitoring, and more. 

.lumen (Romania)

.Lumen is a Romanian deeptech startup creating mobility and independence for people who are blind or severely visually impaired by applying autonomous-driving-inspired AI tech to pedestrian navigation challenges. 

.lumen Glasses for the Blind is a wearable navigation system described as the world’s first technology to replicate the functionality of a guide dog through AI-driven guidance. 

These smart glasses combine multiple cameras, inertial sensors, GNSS localisation (e.g., GPS), and advanced onboard processing to interpret the environment in real time. Using a patented haptic feedback interface on the forehead and complementary audio prompts, the system subtly “guides” the user by indicating safe walking paths, detecting and helping avoid obstacles at and above ground level, and steering toward specific destinations. 

The product has been tested by hundreds of visually impaired users across more than 40 countries and is engineered for durability and everyday use.

Ongoing software updates aim to expand capabilities, including guided navigation to saved addresses and new destinations. 

Its glasses were named a CES 2026 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Accessibility & Longevity category.

Kuube (Hungary)

Kuube is a Budapest-based smart street furniture company focused on sustainable, solar-powered solutions that transform public spaces into connected, service-rich environments.

The company designs and manufactures a range of street furniture that combine renewable energy with digital services such as free Wi-Fi, USB and wireless device charging, environmental sensors, and digital displays.

From  Kuube PLUS, a large eight-seater with Wi-Fi, multiple charging options, environmental monitoring, and digital displays to Kuube BOOK, a solar-powered public book exchange that fosters community engagement, these products merge functionality, sustainability, and community value in public infrastructure.   

Swistor (Switzerland) 

Swistor is an EPFL spin-off developing high-performance supercapacitors that are fast-charging, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly. 

It uses nanostructured carbon-based electrodes and advanced materials to create energy storage devices that can deliver high power density, rapid charge/discharge cycles, and slow degradation over time—addressing key limitations of traditional lithium-ion batteries such as slow charging, limited lifetime, and reliance on scarce materials like lithium and cobalt. 

Swistor’s products are designed to complement or potentially replace conventional batteries in applications ranging from portable electronics and IoT sensors to higher-power systems such as renewable energy integration or grid support, with a B2B focus and customizable solutions for partners.

Tinental  (Italy)

Startup Tinental seeks to make energy optimisation and predictive maintenance accessible and profitable for industrial operators by using AI, digital-twin modelling, and IoT.  

The company has created Caleno Energy, a plug-and-play IoT device that integrates with existing motor-driven machinery (such as pumps) via variable-frequency drives (VFDs) to dynamically match machine output to actual system demand, significantly reducing energy waste by up to 60 per cent while maintaining the same production output. It installs quickly with zero downtime and no need for additional sensors.

Further, Caleno Predict is a predictive-maintenance solution that uses AI and certified analyst support to detect anomalies, deliver actionable maintenance guidance, and minimise unplanned downtime and recurring faults.

Together, these tools help industries optimise energy use, reduce costs, and extend asset lifespans.

UTU (Ukraine)

UTU is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian company developing industrial 3D printing technology for construction.

It designs and builds large-scale concrete 3D printers that can be deployed directly on construction sites to print structural walls and building elements layer by layer, significantly reducing construction time, labour needs, and material waste compared to traditional methods.

The startup is the first Ukrainian company to build and 3D print a residential house in Ukraine using its own technology. This project was completed in a remarkably short timeframe (reported around 58 hours).