From grill cleaner to pet tracker, CES aims to please
If there is one takeaway from CES 2016 it is that there is almost a device for everything.
Whether it stimulates your brain or detects alcohol in your breath, engineers and entrepreneurs have developed technology you wouldn't think existed.
Alcohoot Edge gives people a way to test their blood-alcohol level and keep track of drinking trends over time.
Brad Marshall, an industrial designer with Vertisense, which created the device, says the product launched two years ago. People connect the device to their phone, blow through it and learn their alcohol level. It has immediate applications, letting people know if they are too drunk to drive.
But Marshall says it goes beyond that.
"You can see which alcohols affect you the most," he says.
People can connect it to a wellness app that measures sleep and notice trends of nights they drank certain alcohol — or overindulged in libations — and nights they didn't sleep well.
Through the mobile app, people can also connect to rideshare services such as Uber or find nearby restaurants.
"In case they need a meal before they go home," Marshall adds.
At CES, the company unveiled its next version of the device, which connects to a smartphone through bluetooth.
"It basically is a brand new way to improve upon the user experience," he says.
The hope is to always get devices smaller and smaller, but the technology in the device has to be a certain size to work properly and efficiently. It is still small enough to fit in a pocket.
As passers-by walk through, they notice Michael Oxley holding a Duracell battery that's connected to two cords that attach to his forehead.
"Wanna get your brain stimulated?" he says in the most literal meaning. "2016 is the year of brain stimulation."
After reading research by various universities about the power of slightly stimulating the brain with minor electrical currents helps with concentration, Oxley came up with an accessible device to offer to everyday people.
The product launched at CES.
The idea is for people to hook up to the Go Flow for 20 to 40 minutes. He says the device can help people concentrate harder and have a better working memory.
About two milliamps is sent through the device to "stimulate" the brain.
A few years ago, Roomba came out with a way for people to clean their home floors with little hassle. Grillbot has come out with a way to clean the grill with the same principles in mind.
The device sits on the wire-grill surface. With one touch, it goes to work cleaning on its own.
Not all the devices just benefit humans.
The Tractive Pet Tracker is a device developed two years ago as a way to track pets.
"People can track them from their smartphones or tablets," says Melanie Feilmayr, the digital marketing manager of the company.
The tracker is imbedded in the device which is smaller than a Tic Tac container. It can be clipped on any collar.
People can simply track where their pet goes or use it as an electronic fence adjusting the perimeters. When a pet wanders outside of the range, people get a notification.
Feilmayr notes Tractive is waterproof.
"So you don't have to worry if your pet jumps in the water," she adds.
Feilmayr says they have recently launched two designs, one in camouflage colors for hunters and their dogs and another that's pink for the "princess" dog. The device, normally white, needed to be more discreet for hunters, which is why the customized one is offered.
Though they are available across Europe, the company visited CES in hopes of bringing the product to America.
Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.
