The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will opens its doors this week to hoards of tech enthusiasts, bloggers, investors, entrepreneurs, startup founders, journalists and developers from across the globe, in the always arid and morally questionable city of Las Vegas. Yes, it's that time of year again, a 3-day span when tech executives define headlines and companies like Sony, Google and Ford can be found alongside startups like Reston, Va.'s own LifeFuels, to promote new products, projects and give a window into the next big trends in hardware. This is CES.
Heading into the event, which will begin on Wednesday and run until Friday, we spoke with a series of local startup founders who will be attendance. The question? What do they hope to achieve while at CES and what are they most excited about seeing?
Here's what they said:
PFP Cybersecurity (Vienna, Va.)
PFP Cybersecurity, led by security veteran and angel investor Steven Chen, is a hardware company which has developed technology that tests microchips — found in a myriad of gadgets like smartphones — to find counterfeit chips. In addition, the company's flagship testing procedure can find implanted firmware/malware that was installed on the microchips. These viruses can sometimes cause confidential data to be stolen and siphoned by malicious hackers via the devices. But PFP cybersecurity can detect the chip abnormalities even before the chips are installed into various products.
Chen said that his company was attending CES to exhibit their technology and prove that "security can be delivered for less than $1 at high volume."
"We are looking for partners to bring government funded security solution to high volume consumer applications such as automotive, home-automation, etc. We will conduct a survey to better understand the IoT security requirement from the attendees ... IoT has changed from a buzz word to a significant business opportunity. Besides home automation, we hope to see innovation in cars, wearables and user experience, among others," Chen told DC Inno.
PFP Cybersecurity is a National Science Foundation (NSF) showcase company at CES, Chen said.
LifeFuels (Reston, Va.)
LifeFuels is an early stage startup that is developing a smart water bottle system that pairs with a smartphone to deliver a new workout experience. The company has yet to receive funding. While pre-orders are at capacity, because the testing phase is still ongoing, the plan is to expand orders as soon as possible, CEO and co-founder Jonathon Perrelli told DC Inno. While at CES, the Va.-based hardware company will "expand the LifeFuels brand and [its] Smart Nutrition Bottle on a much larger, global scale."
According to Perrelli, LifeFuels will be announcing a partnership and endorsement agreement with two of the top Olympic athletes in the world.
A few of their internet-connected water bottles will also be shown in several of the Innovation Award Showcases during CES.
The LifeFuels team said they are excited to check out "innovative new products in the space [wearable technology] as more possible opportunities for integration ... We’ll be on the lookout for companies who are pioneering new areas and ideas in the field of health and nutrition, just like we are."
Perrelli explained that LifeFuels' exhibitor profile is notably in the top 5 percent of overall profiles viewed in the CES online show planner. He plans to meet with several journalists, prospective investors and others at CES.
Visisonics (College Park, Md.)
Have you heard of Oculus, the Facebook-owned virtual reality hardware and software giant? Well, Visisonics has created one of the company's leading 3D audio development tools. By leveraging Visisonics' advanced hardware and software, virtual reality application developers — building in the Unity game engine — can create more realistic virtual worlds where sound feels like its multi-dimensional and specifically coming for certain areas.
At CES, CEO Gregg Wilkes said that his company does not have any big plans or updates to unveil, but rather the event will be critical in meeting various developers, venture capital investors, strategic partners and headset manufacturers. He already has a series of interviews scheduled and that will be Visisonics' focus.
Wilkes told DC Inno that he is "interested in seeing new VR and augmented reality (AR) experiences, hardware, other vertical use models as well as traction of 3D Audio technologies."
"The industry is realizing the criticality of 3D Audio in VR/AR and a physics based engine approach is the future of audio. The future is this year," he added.
RightEye (Bethesda, Md.)
RightEye LLC develops advanced sensor technology and software systems, focused on eye testing through eye tracking. The company's tests are used to train a user's eyes and brain, thereby improving vision, reflexes and even coordination, over time. The U.S. military along with one unnamed Major League Baseball team are already clients, President Barbara Barclay said.
The use cases for this technology go beyond improving cognitive function, however, as it has already been proven effective and timely in diagnosing concussions as well.
Barclay told DC Inno in an email interview that RightEye would be launching two new products, RightEye Essential Vision and RightEye Performance Vision, at CES this week. "These tests will provide standardized objective measurement tools for optometry and for sports vision — in some cases, for the first time ever," she said.
While at CES, Barclay will also hope to reach two specific client communities: providers that are dedicated to helping people with vision disorders and/or brain injury along with a direct to consumer market segment.
"We also serve the consumer because it is ultimately the consumer who benefits from more comprehensive vision tests; consumers have unmet needs, especially in the area of undiagnosed vision issues that result from a developmental issue or result from brain injury of some kind. Press at CES can build consumer and provider awareness," said Barclay.
In terms of what Barclay and the team are most excited about, this simple answer is an increase in press coverage for eye-tracking technology.
"We expect to see significant interest from the press and from consumers since this is a first time ever application of eye tracking technology in a meaningful, practical way that helps everyone and improves upon a methodology that has changed little in 20 years," she said.
GateKeeper (College Park, Md.)
Born within the academic halls of the University of Maryland, GateKeeper (previously known as Untethered Labs) began as a student founded startup. Today they produce cybersecurity hardware to protect devices from both cyber attacks and other intrusions that can occur in-person (think someone walking to your desk and typing a password or downloading a virus via USB stick).
The small, wearable tech company is currently funded by a family and friends financial raise.
CEO Siddharth Potbhare told DC Inno that he plans to unveil a new product at CES that improves upon older models. This updated version will include a smaller redesigned key fob with more sensors and a tiny USB receiver.
GateKeeper will also be announcing the launch of the Gatekeeper Enterprise software platform, enabling IT administrators at large organizations to deploy, manage and analyze Gatekeeper computer access controls throughout their respective networks, Potbhare said. The platform will serve as a sort of generic OS and command center to manage GateKeeper assets.
Regarding what GateKeeper is looking forward to at CES, Potbhare said "our product has moved from the lab into the mainstream in 2015, and CES is the best platform for us to showcase our product. Computer security is not to be taken lightly, and being at CES we hope to draw attention to the lack of security in the workplace that our unique solution can address." In translation, it appears the company will look to boost awareness of their product through the unique venue and all the amenities, contacts and services it naturally provides.
