The week of January 5 to 8, 2023, was an exciting week in Las Vegas at the CES 2023 consumer electronics show, since some of the most innovative and ingenious technologies were introduced to the world.
Smart dog collar
Many people are currently wearing fitness trackers on their wrist that can offer a range of insights into their overall health. Now this type of technology is available for dogs.
Invoxia displayed a smart collar for dogs that uses artificial intelligence alongside tiny sensors and accelerometers to measure a dog’s health and activity throughout the day. Invoxia uses “heartprint technology” to graph continuous measurements of the dog’s cardio-pulmonary system and highlight any symptoms of potential heart diseases, stress, and pain. Invoxia also monitors the amount of scratching of the dog to indicate when the dog has a rash or an allergy. The collar will cost R2 555 plus a R139 per month subscription fee.
Walkie-talkie adjustable sunglasses
Ampere has developed adjustable sunglasses that can change the darkness of the glasses depending on the environment. The Dusk Sport Bluetooth-enabled sunglasses have an app to adjust the tint and are intended for runners and bikers. If the whole group of runners or bikers is wearing Dusk Sports, the sunglasses can act as wearable walkie-talkies.
Long-distance wireless chargers
It has always been a dream to charge devices wirelessly without cables or electromagnetic induction coil-charging pads. The AirFuel Alliance (Samsung, Huawei and others) announced at CES 2023 the first global interoperable standard for RF (radio frequency) wireless power transfer, called AirFuel RF. Devices can now use radio frequency waves to transmit small amounts of energy from a few centimetres up to a few metres, allowing the simultaneous charging of multiple devices such as sensors and wearables that are in range.
Although the technology currently entails a trickle charge, it can be very useful to charge remote controls, computer mice, keyboards, wearables, headphones, hearing aids and smart home sensors. The wireless transmission of energy may still be limited but will surely change our lives in the years to come.
A smart ring and fingertip blood pressure monitor
Movano Health is currently working on a smart ring for consumers, called Evie, which would be capable of monitoring chronic illnesses. The ring has already passed a hypoxia (an absence of enough oxygen in the tissues to sustain bodily functions) trial in October 2022, showing clinical-level accuracy for heart rate and oxygen saturation measurements.
However, the approval of medical devices by the authorities, such as the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) in the US, is a complex, time-consuming and tedious task.
In the case of Evie, the FDA requires accuracy across a broad range of oxygen levels with a margin of error of only 4%. Fortunately, the Evie Ring delivered an error margin of 2%. But more tests need to be passed, such as the pulse oximetry metrics clinical trial.
If successful, the Evie Ring would be one of the first consumer wearables fully cleared as a medical device – hopefully by the second half of 2023.
Valencell – a wearable tech provider known for its non-invasive blood pressure monitoring tech using photo plethysmography (PPG) sensors – showcased a R1 715 cuffless, calibrationless fingertip blood pressure sensor.
The device is worn on the middle finger, where a PPG sensor shines light into the skin. The device measures the reflected light and employs an algorithm based on a dataset of 7 000 people to get an accurate diastolic and systolic measurement. Valencell aims to get FDA clearance by the end of this year.
Making it easier to monitor chronic illnesses such as blood pressure could benefit the treatment of these illnesses tremendously since it will depend on consistent measurements and not infrequent visits to the doctor or pharmacy.
A spoon to help with tasting
People who lost their taste due to Covid are undergoing chemotherapy, or who have a condition that affects their sense of taste, may want to look at SpoonTek’s innovative electric spoon.
When food comes into contact with the small electrode in the spoon bowl, the spoon sends a small electric current through the food that will literally tickle the tastebuds to enhance flavour and neutralise aftertaste.
A smelly neckband
Aromajoin, a Japanese company, demonstrated their “Aroma Shooter” with several cartridges of dry and solid scents. These scents can be tailored to various time stamps on any YouTube video using the AromaPlayer software to make the video or movie more realistic. Just imagine smelling the wonderful food when the star of the movie is eating.
The whole idea of the Aroma Shooter Wearable, which rests around a person’s neck, is eventually aimed at adding a scent experience to virtual reality to further immerse the person.
The future of technology
As artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated into devices and they are becoming smarter, they will impact our lives more and more.
Professor Louis C H Fourie is an Extraordinary Professor at the University of the Western Cape.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
BUSINESS REPORT