CES 2018. Premiere of BYTON autonomous SUV – Photo: courtesy of Byton.

CES 2018 – At Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronic Show it’s too easy to be fascinated by expensive and eye-candy tech-gadgets claiming to be the smartest and most innovative products ever. Archipanic selected 7 human-based designs which healthily use our bodies to improve our lives; from a wearable UV sensor that tracks sun exposure as a way of lowering the risk of skin cancer to discreet sleep-tracker devices and shape-shifting robot-mannequins.

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Signl smart strap allows fingertip calls

Korean startup company Innomdle Lab presented the Signl smart wristband which allows people to receive phone calls  by simply raising their finger to their ear. A practical and safe solution which makes use of BCU – Body Conduction Unit technology which sends vibrations down the user’s wrist, before converting them into amplified sound.

CES 2018 – Photo by Innomdle Lab.

No need to rummage in your bag or pockets when the phone rings. The wristband features also a microphone so that users can talk back to their callers. The device is also equipped with smart functions such as call reminders, health and fitness tracking.

L’Oreal UV Sensor protects against skin cancer

Yves Behar developed for L’Oréal a wearable UV sensor patch to be applied on thumbnails which monitors sun exposure to help consumers educate themselves about sun protection. The new technology arrives at a time when sun exposure has become a major health issue, with 90% of nonmelanoma skin cancers being associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sun in addition to attributing to skin pigmentation and photo-aging.

CES 2018 – ©L’Oreal.

The patch is a transparent adhesive which contains photosensitive dyes that factor in the baseline skin tone and change colors when exposed to UV rays to indicate varying levels of sun exposure. Consumers will be able to take a photo of the patch and upload it to the My UV Patch mobile app, which analyzes the varying photosensitive dye squares to determine the amount of UV exposure the wearer has received.

Byton’s human-responsive self-driving SUV set to hit the roads from 2019

CES 2018 – Photo by Byton.

Chinese brand Byton debuted at CES with a autonomous electric SUV featuring unique digital design and innovative human-vehicle interaction. The smart vehicle will be available in China towards the end of 2019, and in the U.S. and Europe in 2020 at a price starting from USD $45,000. The Byton SUV (Byton = Bytes on Wheels) features voice recognition, touch control, biometric identification and air-touch advanced gesture control technology… And can run over 500 km with a single charge.

Face recognition cameras recognize the driver or passenger to unlock the door. BYTON also recognizes driver and passenger information to auto-adjust seat angles, entertainment options and other information according to user preferences and usage. On top of that, no matter which BYTON the driver sits in, his or her profile can be downloaded from the cloud to the car, making the customer feel as if every BYTON is his/her own car.

Yevo turns confiscated firearms into headphones

CES 2018 – Yevo 1, Spectra 03 – Photo by Yevo Labs.

Swedish headphone maker Yevo has unveiled Yevo x Humanium, a pair of wireless earbuds made from the most unfortunate and improbable source: melted metal of illegal firearms from gun destruction programs. Armed violence is a global epidemic. Recently in Las Vegas a terrorist killed 58 concertgoers and injured over 500 people shooting from a hotel window – reigniting the debate about gun laws in the US.

Aflac’s toy robot helps children with cancer to cope through their treatments

Robotics toy company Sproutel teamed with Aflac to create a robotic toy duck and companion bringing comfort and joy to give cancer-diagnosed children the tool to understand what’s going on and to empower them. “We leverage play in some of the latest technology for kids “ says Sproutel CEO Aaron Horowitz. Special Aflac Duck has five touch sensors along its cheeks, under the wings, and back. Kids can pet and snuggle with it, and the duck will cuddle back or cheerfully quack in response.

Max by Sleepscore Labs counts ZZZs not sheep

CES 2018 – Courtesy of Sleepscore Labs.

Dream-masks and brainwaves-reading head band. At CES you could find all sort of eyebrow rising sleep-tech gadgets. This year, the most innovative one was MAX, a contactless sleep-tracker developed by Sleepscore Labs. Available at 149$, MAX comes as a grey tracker which doesn’t have to come in bed with nor have you wearing any device as it is content to live on your nightstand. By sending radio waves through the air, it claims to monitor breathing patterns and analyzing the quality of sleep to provides suggestions on how to improve sleep habits.

Euveka developed shape-shifting robot mannequins

Humans come in so many shapes that designers and modelers in the fashion, sports, medical or security business can’t really rely on mass produced mannequins. That’s why French company Euveka developed mannequins which can be programmed to shape-shift according to different body-types.