Source: AFP
Turning on the TV in the blink of an eye, skiing down a city street — the once unthinkable was possible this week at CES, the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, thanks to wearable technology innovations.
Here are some of the highlights:
Headphone remotes
You can do a lot with a wink and a wink — at least when you’re wearing the Naqi Neural headset, says Zavier Alexander, director of product management at Canadian company Naqui Logix.
Source: AFP
The programmable headphones contain “biosensors” that detect “electrical impulses that your muscles make every time you make a facial expression,” Alexander explains.
They can be configured to control “almost any connected device,” he says, from computer mice and keyboards to even a 737 flight simulator.
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“Right now we can detect four different gestures… raising your eyebrows, blinking your eyes, opening and closing your mouth. The one we really like is a jaw flex because it’s very subtle.”
The start-up’s founder originally started the project to help a paralyzed friend play video games again, Alexander said.
The company is now looking for headphone manufacturers willing to incorporate the technology into their products.
Movie screen glasses
Source: AFP
Only slightly bulkier than conventional glasses, XREAL’s augmented reality (AR) glasses project a cinema-sized screen.
“Wear them on a flight, in a car or on a train — you’ll have a big-screen experience that comes out of your pocket,” says Ralph Jodice, the Chinese company’s head of public relations.
“When you’re sitting at your desk, whether it’s in the office or at home, we can have three virtual screens floating in space.”
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The sensors can also track hand movements, enabling the creation of virtual 3D applications.
The various models cost from $400 to $700.
Mute masks
Source: AFP
With the Skyted Silent Mask, you can finally make that important call in a quiet train car.
Wearing the device the size of a surgical mask, “your voice doesn’t go out and noise doesn’t come in,” explains Stephane Hersen, founder of the French company.
The sound-absorbing mask connects to phones or computers, allowing users to make “silent, confidential calls in any situation,” says the former Airbus employee, pointing to noisy offices.
He says the company has a completely different perspective after the Covid-19 pandemic, which has changed many people’s perceptions of wearing a mask.
“Eyes” in the back of your head
Source: AFP
While working as a corrections officer, .simtechnology founder Sean Siembab says he was attacked from behind, suffering a traumatic brain injury.
During his recovery, a cyclist hit him — from behind.
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“At that point, I said ‘there’s got to be something out there alerting you.’
He got to work developing an accessory worn on users’ backs that warns them when someone is approaching from behind. With a tiny camera, it also films the interaction.
Users then have the option to send an SOS message from their phone or smartwatch.
The device is expected to retail for $199, with a $79 annual fee for cloud video storage.
Shoes for fast walking
Source: AFP
Why run when you can walk faster? Users wearing Shift Robotics’ electric wheeled device — over their shoes — glide along without breaking a sweat.
“They’re not skates — they don’t coast… If you stop walking, they don’t move at all,” explains Shift Robotics director of marketing David Politis.
He says the latest version — the Moonwalkers X — is faster and lighter than its predecessor.
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“Walking is good, but there are certain cases where people walk a lot,” says Politis, pointing to warehouses where workers are on their feet all day.
Touting the device’s productivity benefits, he says IKEA, which used the shoes in a store in Sweden, estimates workers wearing the Moonwalkers could save “almost 400 hours a year.”
However, no walking is required for Skwheel’s electric skis — no snow, for that matter.
Made by a French start-up, the battery-powered skates seek to replicate the feeling of skiing, on or off-road.
Some customers may use them for a fun daily commute, but the company also plans to sell them to winter sports shops for summer rentals.
Source: AFP