The most interesting tech we saw on day one of CES

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sure, Nvidia, AMD and Intel all had important chip and AI platform announcements on the first day of CES 2026, but all audiences wanted to see more of was Star Wars and Jensen Huang's little robot buddies.

CES is a huge opportunity annually for companies both large and small to parade products they plan to put on shelves this year. And, as predicted, artificial intelligence was anchored in nearly everything as tech firms continue to look for AI products that will attract customers.

AP has been on the ground looking at booths and covering big announcements, here is a roundup of the highlights we saw on the first day of CES.

The biggest buzzword in the air at CES is “physical AI,” Nvidia’s term for AI models that are trained in a virtual environment using computer generated, “synthetic” data, then deployed as physical machines once they’ve mastered their purpose.

CEO Jensen Huang showed off Cosmos, an AI foundation model trained on massive datasets, capable of simulating environments governed by actual physics. He also announced Alpamayo, an AI model specifically designed for autonomous driving. Huang revealed that Nvidia's next generation AI superchip platform, dubbed Vera Rubin, is in full production, and that Nvidia has a new partnership with Siemens. All of this shows Nvidia is going to fight increased competition to retain its reputation as the backbone of the AI industry.

But once Huang called for two little, waddling, chirping robots to join him on stage, that's all the audience wanted to see more of.

AMD CEO Lisa Su announced a new line of its famed Ryzen AI processors as the company continues to expand its footprint in the world of AI-powered personal computers.

For gamers, AMD also showed off the latest version of its gaming-focused processor, the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D.

Meanwhile, Intel announced its new AI chip for laptops, Panther Lake (also known as the Intel Core Ultra Series 3), and said the company has plans to launch a new platform to address a growing market for handheld video gaming machines.

Intel, a Silicon Valley pioneer that enjoyed decades of growth as its processors powered the personal computer boom, fell into a slump after missing the shift to the mobile computing era unleashed by the iPhone. It fell further behind after the AI boom propelled Nvidia into the spotlight.

President Donald Trump’s administration stepped in recently to secure a 10% stake in the company, making the government one of Intel’s biggest shareholders. Federal officials said they invested in Intel to support U.S. technology and domestic manufacturing.

Uber is giving the public a first look at their robotaxi at this CES this week. Uber, along with luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors and vehicle tech company Nuro, introduced an autonomous vehicle with an Uber-designed in-cabin experience.

Uber calls it the most luxurious robotaxi yet. It features cameras, sensors and radars that provide 360-degree perception and a low-profile roof “halo” with integrated LEDs that will display riders’ initials to help them spot their car and track their ride status. Inside, riders can personalize everything from climate and seat heating to music, while real-time visuals show exactly what the vehicle is seeing on the road and the route it plans to take.

Autonomous on-road testing began last month in San Francisco, led by Nuro, marking a major step toward what the companies said is a planned launch before the end of the year.

When Lucasfilm chief creative officer David Filoni brought out an array of X-Wing pilots, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C-3PO, he won the Star Wars fandom for Lego.

Lego announced its Lego Smart Play platform on Monday, which introduces new smart bricks, tags and special minifigs for your collection. The new bricks contain sensors that enable them to sense light and distance, and to provide an array of responses, essentially lights and sounds, when they are used in unison.

Combine this with a newly announced partnership with the Star Wars franchise and now you can create your own interactive space battles and light-saber duels.

File this one under intrigued, for now.

The Korean tech giant gave the media a glimpse Monday of its humanoid robot that is designed to handle household chores such as folding laundry and fetching food. Although many companies have robots on display at CES, LG certainly is one of the biggest tech companies to promise to put a service robot in homes.

It will be on display — and we assume demonstrating some of its purported abilities — beginning Tuesday, so we'll have more to report soon.

Music you can taste was on display Monday at CES: Lollipop Star unveiled a candy that plays music while you eat it. The company says it uses something called “bone induction technology,” which lets you hear songs — like tracks from Ice Spice and Akon — through the lollipop as you lick it or bite it in the back of your mouth, according to spokesperson Cassie Lawrence.

The musical lollipops will go on sale after CES on Lollipop Star’s website for $8.99 each. And if that wasn’t enough star power, Akon was expected to visit the company’s booth Tuesday when CES opens to the public.

Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics publicly demonstrated its humanoid robot Atlas for the first time at the CES tech showcase, ratcheting up a competition with Tesla and other rivals to build robots that look like people and do things that people do.

The company said a version of the robot that will help assemble cars is already in production and will be deployed by 2028 at Hyundai’s electric vehicle manufacturing facility near Savannah, Georgia.

Delta Air Lines is taking entertainment to new heights as the “official airline” of the Sphere in Las Vegas. The airline announced a new multiyear partnership with Sphere Entertainment Co. that it says will deliver premium experiences to the venue, including a Delta SKY360° Club lounge.

The carrier said SkyMiles members can unlock exclusive access to other experiences at the Sphere, starting during the final weekend of the Backstreet Boys’ residency in February with features including private suite seating, food and beverages. The partnership brings Delta branding to the Sphere’s massive exterior LED screen. Delta says more exclusive SkyMiles experiences will roll out in 2026 and beyond.

CLOiD, an LG Electronics home robot, interacts with the audience during an LG Electronics news conference ahead of the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Asad Ayaz, left, and Dave Filioni stand on stage during an LEGO news conference ahead of the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

An Atlas robot stands on the stage during a Hyundai and Boston Dynamics news conference ahead of the CES tech show, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

A LEGO smart brick is held during a LEGO news conference ahead of the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang kneels in front of a robot during a Nvidia news conference ahead of the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

LEGO chief product and marketing officer and executive vice president Julia Goldin talks as a a Chewbacca stands behind her during an LEGO news conference ahead of the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

SEATTLE (AP) — Kaapo Kakko had two goals and an assist, Berkly Catton scored his first two NHL goals, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Boston Bruins 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Jared McCann had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Eberle and Ben Meyers also scored as Seattle extended its point streak to nine games (8-0-1) — the second-longest in franchise history. Matty Beniers, Vince Dunn and Freddy Gaudreau each had two assists, and Joey Daccord finished with 32 saves.

David Pastrnak scored two goals, Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist, and Mason Lohrei also scored for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman had 20 saves.

Meyers scored with 1:37 left in the second period to put Seattle ahead 3-2, and McCann made it 4-2 with a power-play goal a half-second before the end of the period.

Kakko made it 5-2 midway through the third period, and Catton followed with his second goal of the night with 5:40 left — one period after logging his first career goal on a play that saw Kakko record his 100th career assist.

Lohrei and Arvidsson scored less than 3 minutes apart to pull the Bruins within two, but Kakko sealed it with an empty-netter with 12 seconds remaining.

Eberle opened the night’s scoring at 8:50 of the first period, after Seattle drew nearly two full minutes of 5-on-3 action. The goal was Eberle’s team-leading 15th of the season.

The Bruins toed it nearly 4 minutes later when Nikita Zadorov ripped a pass from deep inside his own defensive zone and Pastrnak beat everybody down the ice to collect the puck off the end boards before beating Daccord.

Catton put the Kraken back ahead at 2:48 of the second, before Pastrnak tied it again into a wide-open net off a feed from Charlie McAvoy at 6:28.

Bruins: Host Calgary on Thursday night.

Kraken: Host Minnesota on Thursday night.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/NHL

Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak moves the puck against Seattle Kraken center Frederick Gaudreau, right, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Kraken left wing Jared McCann (19) celebrates with defenseman Vince Dunn (29) after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Kraken right wing Kaapo Kakko scores an empty net goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Kraken center Berkly Catton flicks the puck while facing the Boston Bruins during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)