Companies show smart home tech, wearables, more at CES
By Cheryl V. Jackson Blue Sky Innovation
Smart home devices, wearables and a kinetic battery charger stepped
from the Chicago area into the Las Vegas limelight last week at consumer
technology trade show CES.
Fibaro, with U.S. operations based in Glenview, unveiled its Swipe
gesture control pad for smart devices.
“You can swipe your hand without any touch, and you can associate
any smart home device to it,” said Rich Bria, managing director for the U.S.
Users can program Swipe to recognize patterns and prompt sets of
tasks. A swipe can turn off lights, lower shades, lock doors and turn on
an alarm system at the same time, he said.
The $149 device can be mounted or installed in wall. But all of the
company’s products are wireless, making them usable by renters and not
just homeowners. “There’s nothing you’re hardwiring that you couldn’t
walk out with if you left,” Bria said.
Fibaro and others aim to make the connected home more affordable and
easy to install than it has been in the past.
1871-based smart home device startup Oomi by Fantem, another CES
exhibitor, uses NFC wireless technology to pair devices.
“There’s a lot of interoperability among the manufacturers where
things work together more,” Bria said. “Over the years manufacturers
have really started to pay attention to how consumers are adopting smart
home technology, and getting away from that siloed approach.
“The user interface is becoming easier. With our online guides,
we’re really simplifying some of the messaging. And retail is starting
to pick up the pace and educating people.”
First Alert, the Aurora-based smoke detector company, unveiled
several One-link by First Alert smart devices that work with the new
Apple HomeKit, a framework for communicating, controlling and connecting
different brands of smart home devices.
The Wi-Fi Environment Monitor ($99.99) senses carbon monoxide levels
and temperature and humidity, and then notifies users of changes on
their iOS devices.
First Alert also introduced a thermostat ($249.99), safe (starting
at $499) and a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm ($109.99-$119.99), all
with Wi-Fi connectivity.
The alarm, which notifies users on their iOS devices of emergencies,
has a sealed battery and lasts for 10 years.
It is offered in a version that doesn’t require damaging walls to
install, making it also suitable for renters, said Tim Russo, vice
president of marketing.
In other areas of CES, which runs through Saturday and will see
about 20,000 new tech-centered items unveiled from businesses around the
world:
• The ReliefBand wearable from Rosemont-based ReliefBand
Technologies was a finalist at The Bump Best of Baby Tech Awards. The
drug-free wearable is used to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
• Mira Fitness, the activity tracker jewelry company, has added a
pendant and a new bracelet design concealing its Opal tracker. Mira is a
venture of Lake Forest-based Omron Healthcare.
• Air-purification company Blueair AB, which has its U.S.
headquarters in Chicago, picked up Envisioneering innovation, design and
style awards Wednesday for its Blueair Sense+ air purifier, Aware air
monitor and Friend app.
The Sense+ and Blueair Aware connect to the app to give a detailed
view of indoor air pollution.
The app also displays outdoor air quality at locations around the world.
• Evanston-based Ampy attracted a lot of attention, particularly at
a pre-show startup showcase in downtown Vegas that had a crowd curious
about the battery charger that runs on kinetic energy.
The company, started by a trio of Northwestern University doctoral
engineering students, completed shipment in December of items to
Kickstarter campaign supporters who committed more than $300,000 to the
project. It has raised $875,000 in seed funding to integrate the
chargers into wearable devices.
The Ampy team is at CES to generate interest in future projects.
“Going to CES is about meeting with potential licensing partners and
meeting with potential buyers,” said co-founder and CEO Tejas Shastry.
The CES marketplace for startups — Eureka Park, where Ampy and Oomi
by Fantem are exhibiting — has seen exhibits funded at more than $1
billion since 2012, according to show producers. This year, more than
500 exhibits were on display in the area, up from 375 last year.
Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelancer.
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*================================================ Duane Whittingham -
N9SSN (ARES/RACES, EmComm, Skywarn & Red Cross)
http://www.radiodude.info ================================================*
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