The CES tech show in Las Vegas has been packed with health gadgets this year, as technology continues to make great strides when it comes to helping consumers better understand their overall wellness.
Here’s our pick of the best on display.
Withings Smart Toilets
We had to start with Withings’ connected “urine scanner.” This device provides an immediate snapshot of the body’s balance by monitoring and detecting a wide variety of biomarkers found in urine.
The device is only 9cm in diameter and fits inside most toilet bowls. The results are then sent to a smartphone app, which provides analysis and recommendations based on the data.
“It’s the first hands-free, at-home, connected urinalysis lab that sits directly on the toilet bowl,” Withings product owner Inna Ndaw told Euronews Next.
The company says that it is planning two different use cases; one aimed at hospitals and other healthcare settings, the other for consumers.
“Urine actually has more than 3,000 metabolites. So a lot of information that’s not normally used much today because it’s so difficult,” Elizabeth Coleon of Withings told the Associated Press.
“Most people don’t like to go and get a urinalysis. Typically people will go once a year instead of being able to look at that information regularly and get the longitudinal data, which can give a lot more information to improve health,” she added.
Healthy Selfies from Caducy
Caducy, a device created by another French company called i-Virtual, measures health data in a different way.
Thanks to a 30-second selfie video, analysis is performed in the cloud using artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning algorithms, including computer vision and signal processing.
The app then provides information including heart rate, breathing rate and stress level, a way for remote consultation, according to the company.
Gael Constancin, founder and CEO of i-Virtual, explained that the technology reads facial skin health signals.
“We see the blood moving through the skin. So, it’s a signal analysis. We measure the pulse rate by analyzing the signal directly on the person’s face, and (for) the respiratory rate, we just look at the chest and we count, we count the movement”.
German Bionic Exoskeleton Suits
Judging by what we saw at CES this week, another technology that could help us in the future is exoskeletons.
With more and more items being shipped around the world, it’s a strain for warehouse workers whose jobs require heavy lifting.
German Bionic is working to fix this issue with the Apogee exoskeleton suit.
The sixth iteration of the product, the Apogee is a lighter, stronger version and helps the user more easily lift items up to 30kg.
“So the product is an active lifting exoskeleton, all powered by a single 40-volt battery,” said David Mack of German Bionic.
“As you squat, it knows your position relative to the ground. So when you start to lift again, it will detect those movements and lift you up, compensating for almost 30kg of lifting force.”
hello air
Another robot on the show floor is Aeo, a new robot with a mission to keep buildings clean and help human workers, particularly in understaffed hospitals.
It’s a busy life, but Aeo still found time to take some selfies with CES visitors.
Currently deployed in Japan, Hong Kong and Taipei, Aeolus Robotics’ multi-talented robot can be used for ultraviolet (UV) patrolling, delivery and disinfection services.
“This is really an assistant for humans,” Alex Huang, founder and CEO of Aeolus Robotics, told Euronews Next.
He said Aeo could help care for people in nursing homes, hospitals, hotels, and even airports and commercial buildings.
“Does a night shift patrol to monitor people’s safety. Disinfects frequently touched areas to reduce COVID-19 infection, works with security guards to protect the safety of the entire building, and fact, you can search and deliver goods, medicines and food. .
Chillax Care AI Baby Monitors
Another device used to monitor humans (although only the little ones) is the Chillax Care, an artificial intelligence (AI) powered baby monitor.
“The AI takes different measurements, such as the temperature of the baby’s head and the sleeping position,” Jon Budgen, the company’s vice president of sales, told Euronews Next.
The monitor uses infrared sensors, machine learning, and thermal imaging to track the baby’s breathing, fever, face covering, or tummy time, a position that greatly increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. (SIDS).
“We can do other things over time, like take the temperature around the diaper area to see if the baby needs a diaper change,” Budgen said.
Chillax Care emphasizes that the data is processed using bank rate encryption and there is no need for storage, as the device is essentially a real-time video surveillance camera for concerned parents.
“We just want to take the worry out of it,” Budgen said.
