CES is under way this week, so gadget and technology lovers are descending upon Las Vegas to show off and gawk (or sneer?) at the latest tech wares.
The conference, put on by the Consumer Technology Association every year, says that more than 175,000 people registered to attend, with more than 4,500 companies exhibiting. Among them are more than a dozen companies from the D.C. region. There's a heavy health care and wellness focus among the local companies, but they also span sectors like robotics, automation, smart homes, compliance and security.
The local companies aren't household names, and CES is a chance for them to establish a footing with new customers and partners at the world's largest tech trade show.
Here are the 17 companies at CES this week hailing from the DMV.
Kazoo
Kazoo, based in D.C., is a location-sharing app slated to launch on Jan. 15, according to its website. Aside from a basic “Find My Friends”-style functionality, Kazoo advertises an emergency feature that lets users livestream location and video to emergency contacts in dangerous situations. It also offers a “Meet Me Here” function to create events and track invitees as they come and go.
Rally Health
Based in D.C. with offices in other cities including San Francisco and Chicago, Rally Health provides a platform that helps people manage their employee health care benefits, as well as other health management tools. The company works with 200,000 employers and several major insurance providers. At CES, Rally Health COO Brenda Yang will speak alongside Katie Couric on a panel discussion about workplace wellness.
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FLIR Systems
The only CES exhibitor listed from Virginia, FLIR Systems markets itself as the “The World's Sixth Sense.” The Arlington-based company makes sensors than enhance other technologies through thermal imaging, visible-light imaging, video analytics and other specialties. At CES, FLIR Systems is boasting its potential applications with smart cities, autonomous vehicles, drones and more.
Awarables
Based in Baltimore, Awarables makes a wearable device that aims to help people track their and improve their sleep. A chest monitor, which the company says has a comfortable form factor, tracks data about a user’s sleep onset, REM, deep sleep, light sleep, awakenings and sleep fragmentation, the company says. A companion app uses the data to advice users with personalized plans for a better night’s sleep.
Origin Wireless
From Greenbelt, Md., Origin Wireless makes AI-powered Wi-Fi routers that, aside from providing wireless internet, use the Wi-Fi signals as an all around sensor for its surroundings. The company says its routers can use the waves they generate to detect things like falls, intruders and even sleeping patterns, all without the use of cameras. At CES, Linksys is unveiling a product developed with Origin Wireless called the Wellness Pod, presented as a way to enhance home security and health care.
Robotic Research
Robotic Research, from Clarksburg, Md., specializes in robotics and autonomous solutions. The company has helped develop autonomous ground vehicles for commercial and defense uses. The company says that, at CES, it will be demoing the Pegasus Mini, described as a football-sized autonomous drone that both flies and drives around on the ground.
b.well Connected Health
Baltimore-based b.well Connected Health provides a health care platform that allows users to manage their health plans. The service aggregates all of a users’ health information in one place in hopes of helping them make smarter decisions with their health needs. The aggregated information can include clinical results, financial information from carriers, data from wearable devices and more, according to CEO Kristen Valdes.
BlueStar SeniorTech
BlueStar SeniorTech, based in Rockville, makes health and safety products geared toward elderly users. Products include smart monitors for vitals like blood pressure and glucose, medicine dispensers, as well as watches and other wearables with built-in fall monitors.
ClickMedix
ClickMedix bills itself as a “mobile health social enterprise.” Founded by MIT and Carnegie Mellon students and faculty and based in Gaithersburg, the company provides an app that aims to make medical care more accessible. Patients can use it to consult with their health care providers and practitioners and get referrals and prescriptions, among other things. ClickMedix has deployed the app in 18 countries, according to its website.
GoldenEar Technology
This company from Stevenson, Md., a suburb of Baltimore, makes and sells high quality loudspeakers that aim to compete with the giant name brands of the industry. GoldenEar Technology has been around since 2010 and was founded by Sandy Gross, an industry veteran who had founded two other audio companies, Polk Audio and Definitive Technology. Last week, GoldenEar announced an acquisition by Quest Group, a California company specializing in cables and other audio accessories.
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Top Guard Technologies & Silent Beacon
Based in Rockville, Top Guard Technologies provides location-based tracking solutions for emergency situations at home or at the workplace. Top Guard’s sister company, Silent Beacon, is exhibiting separately at CES and showcasing its consumer product bearing the same name. The Silent Beacon is essentially a panic button that sends GPS location to loved ones and calls 911.
dlhBOWLES
Based in Columbia, Md., dlhBOWLES is a parts manufacturer that makes solutions mainly for automotive manufacturers. Its products include fluid and air management components for a vehicle’s powertrain, chassis, washer system and more. At CES, The company will showcase a new automated camera and sensor cleaning solution geared toward autonomous vehicles.
Eurofins MET Labs
Eurofins MET Labs is a company specialized in testing electronic equipment for certification and compliance. Customers might use its services to make sure their own products comply with safety or environmental regulations. The company was founded in Baltimore in 1959 and now has several locations across the U.S. and Asia.
iFLEX
The iFLEX is a flexible consumer product that is designed to adapt and be a handsfree holder for anything from a phone to – according to iFLEX’s website – a taco or a beer. Essentially a moldable slate, the device can be used instead of having to prop one’s phone on random objects when trying to read or watch a streaming service. The product was made by military veterans Chris Hegglund and Scott Anderson, based in Bethesda.
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Vankyo
Vankyo is a Beltsville, Md.-based company that makes portable projectors for home and office uses, like presentations and streaming. The company’s products can connect with smartphones and video game systems as well.
X-Chair
From Beltsville, Md., X-Chair makes ergonomic office chairs that are adjustable to shape of the sitter’s body. The company boasts 10 adjustable ergonomic settings, but the main selling point is that the user doesn’t need to fidget with the settings at all. Its proprietary “Dynamic Variable Lumbar” system is designed to organically adjust to the sitter. X-Chair claims a number of health benefits, like allowing users to remain in motion to keep the blood flowing.
