Diverse Technologies for Personal Development at CES 2020
Products that promote wellness, purify the air around us, and more
Dazzling, pixel-rich screens and promising immersive entertainment options garner the longest lines at CES, but devices meant to help us improve various aspects of our lives—whatever our priorities may be—dot the floor, too. They aren’t always the most glamorous products, but oftentimes they’re the ones with the most potential. Exhibitors have sought to uncork the vast capabilities of technology and asked questions whose answers may prolong our lives, eliminate suffering or optimize bodily performance.
While a few of the products on the official show floor focus on personal appearance, many others address longstanding issues surrounding health and wellness, and even highlight developments for people dealing with sight or vision impairments. These are just a few of those aforementioned innovations at CES 2020.
Abeye’s Lexilens Dyslexia Glasses
Abeye’s Lexilens glasses correct dyslexia, a visual reading disorder with no known cure. Using augmented reality, these glasses instantaneously rearrange words to their correct order for the wearer. This offers a solution for the 10% of the worldwide population who are dyslexic. Best of all, the comfortable frames have a battery life of two whole days, can be used with prescription lenses, and look like normal glasses one would wear.
Colgate’s Plaqless Pro
Colgate’s Plaqless Pro is a smart-toothbrush with capabilities not found in competitors’ models. This first-of-its-kind release employs optic sensors in order to identify build-up that needs removing. These sensors relay this information in real-time to an adjacent app and to an LED ring on the outside of the brush, wherein visual scans of your mouth pinpoint problem areas and spots in need of a deeper clean. Blue light signals find build-up and white light acts as a notification to move to the next area. Set to release later this year, the Plaqless Pro also guides users through proper brushing techniques and provides feedback on pressure, percentage reached and more.
Procter & Gamble’s Opte
This year, Procter & Gamble debuted an entirely new device, Opte, for covering up birthmarks and blemishes. Though marks that are raised or cause any sort of irritation should be addressed by a dermatologist, there are plenty of other dots, patches and inconsistencies that cause no true harm and could be covered up with makeup or erased with various topicals. But, rather than employ either of those solutions, Opte is the world’s smallest inkjet printer. Inside of the razor-sized wand, this thermal printer pushes out all-natural, pigment-colored “ink” that matches your skin tone. The device’s tip scans the skin below, decides on a pigment, and places it on top of the area. Opte will be available this summer.
EyeQue’s VisionCheck
For those who wear glasses, checking your prescription rarely comes to mind unless a significant decline in vision occurs. The reasons abound: vision tests and new frames can be costly, and you cannot order glasses without a doctor’s prescription. EyeQue‘s VisionCheck, on the other hand, stands in for an optician’s visit by providing users with similar tests on their smartphone. Accompanying EyeQue’s smartphone app, a mountable accessory mimics the process of looking down a sight, and the tests culminate in “EyeGlass Numbers” (which are 90% accurate) rather than a legal prescription. The suggestion can then be used to buy frames from participating stores that do not require a doctor’s word. Ultimately, users can test their vision and maintain some sort of regularity with their check-ups while saving money and being within the comfort of their own home.
Ible’s Airvida M1
Packaged inside of a pendant, Ible’s wearable air-purifier, the Airvida M1, boasts a PM2.5-removal rate greater than 99.9% and can drastically reduce the likelihood of the the wearer inhaling smoke, pollen or other allergens by producing upward of two million negative ions at face-level. Plus, the accessory also removes more than 95% of the bacteria one would typically inhale, making this gadget ideal for air travel or other situations where you’re in close quarters with others for any extended period of time. It’s also nearly unnoticeable under clothing and quite comfortable to wear.
Olive Health’s Bello
Rather than requiring users to wear a wristband or any other sensor, Olive Health’s Bello device approaches the user’s overall wellness by analyzing tough-to-lose belly fat. The non-radiative and non-invasive device uses near infra-red technology to scan the belly area and report back with fat percentage, a relevant health index, caloric intake suggestions, and linked workout routines that could potentially (along with proper diet) reduce the fat in this area. Rather than providing users with an end-all-be-all goal, it merely delivers the data and gives user the opportunity to make choices from it. No two bodies are the same and Bello’s goal is to provide quick guidance for those who do wish to lose weight.
Vitesy’s Natede Home Planter
Vitesy’s clever home planter fuses a product most of us already own with one we all wish we had: a potted plant and an at-home air purifier. While some plants do purifying work of their own, the Natede, as Vitesy calls it, comes equipped with a photocatalytic filter coated with titanium dioxide that retrieves and eliminates VOCs (volatile organic compounds) like pollution, viruses, unpleasant odors, and bacteria. Available in three colors (white, blue, and azalea), the Natede also boasts a self-watering system and a beech wood support stand available as an add-on.
Nuheara’s IQBuds 2 Max
As AirPods evolve to include haptic feedback and noise-cancelling features, competitors seek to differentiate themselves by incorporating health and wellness technology. For example, Nuheara’s impressive new IQbuds 2 Max match Apple’s AirPods in sound quality, but they also provide active noise cancellation, noise localization, and directional focus. These features let the wearer treat the IQbuds 2 like a typical hearing aid, but an adjacent app (and patented technology inside the earbuds) allow for unmatched personalization. Whether you need to hear a presenter better through chatter or you’d rather tune into music than listen to the conversation next to you, Nuheara’s evolution of the earbud allows you to do so. Plus, a long-lasting battery life lets the user wear them throughout the day and in a variety of situations.
DnaNudge Genetic Shopping Assistant
Using a trio of devices, DnaNudge can inform you of your body’s ability to digest and produce energy from certain foods or which foods will be improperly digested and stored as fat. The directions are simple, and require far less work than genetic decoders like 23andMe. Users simply swab their cheek with the provided stick, place that swab into the DnaCatridge, and then load it into the NudgeBox. Inside, patented technologies extract your DNA, analyze it, and upload your data into a wearable capsule (the NudgeBox then destroys what it has learned in order to maintain privacy and prevent DNA theft). The capsule attaches to a bracelet that’s akin to a fitness tracker and gently “nudges” users into making proper diet choices. The band can scan the barcodes on foods to inform users whether or not the food is compatible with their predisposed genetic makeup and monitor activity.
Bisu
Dubbed a “body coach,” Bisu’s smart urine analyzer provides detailed data on everything from electrolyte intake and retention to hydration levels, ketones, pH and uric acid, and more. Users can set goals like lose weight or maintain a keto diet and the app will tailor suggestions. If it’s warm outside (based on your current location), the app would suggest drinking more water and perhaps taking in specific electrolytes. If you’ve been working out more than usual, your levels might change and Bisu can provide advice for optimizing your body for its next session. The device is set to launch later in 2020.
Images courtesy of respective venues, hero image courtesy of Nuheara
