Welcome to day one of our CES 2019 liveblog. Monday is the unofficial first day of the show—unofficial because it’s mostly just press conferences and events for the media. CES proper, with all of its gaudy excess, begins on Tuesday when the expo halls open to the public. But there’s still some behind-the-scenes zaniness from Las Vegas, Nevada to show you today. Scroll down to see reports from Monday, with the newest updates appearing at the top.
Crash Into You
10:10 am: If you’re an avid cyclist or bike commuter then you’ve probably heard of the Hövding inflatable helmet. Now there’s an inflatable vest you can sport along with it. Helite, maker of airbag jackets and vests for motorcycle riders, showed off an airbag vest for cyclists at CES
Unveiled last night. Unlike Helite’s motorcycle safety vests, which are triggered by a rip cord, the new vest relies on a combination of accelerometers, a gyroscope, and a microprocessor to determine when you’re falling off your bike. It’s designed to deploy in milliseconds, as a poor soul from Helite demonstrated by repeatedly throwing himself off his bike on the CES Unveiled show floor. The nylon inflatable vest will also cost $650 when it ships this March, so, it’s not cheap. But hey, it’s hard to put a price on safety, right?—Lauren Goode
Playing With Color
Let’s Roll
9:00 am: Last year at CES, LG showed off a concept television with a roll-up, retractible screen. In 2019, the LG Signature OLED TV R—or “the ROLED,” as I like to call it—is now very real and (almost) ready to roll into a bougie living room near you. The 65-inch 4K display stuns, thanks to the rich color and deep blacks of OLED. That OLED technology is also how LG got the panel so thin it can roll down into a box. It’s set to come out later this year, but LG is cagey on the price—likely because it will take more than a fat roll of Franklins to afford it.—Jeffrey Van Camp
It’s Thermo Time
8:55 am: One of the wearables that stood out at last night’s CES press preview was the Matrix PowerWatch 2, the follow-up to Matrix’s original smartwatch. OK, so it’s not going to win any awards for its stubbornly rugged build. But this new watch adds solar power to the thermoelectric energy that defined the first Matrix watch. That means that, if it works as promised, it’s a smartwatch that never needs to be charged, as it’s either pulling energy from your own body heat or the sun. The PowerWatch 2 also has a color display, built-in GPS, and heart-rate sensors. The company behind the watch is raising funds for it on Indiegogo. If it actually ships, you can expect it sometime this summer for a regular retail price of $499.—Lauren Goode
Hush, Pump
Meet the Bread-Baking Bot
Part of the fun of CES is seeing what bizarre, unexpected, and sometimes barely-automated gadgets are being trotted out as robots. Last night, that was the BreadBot, a bread-making machine demoed by the Wilkinson Baking Company out of Walla Walla, Washington. The industrial-sized contraption has around 100 sensors that are constantly monitoring things like weight, ingredient density, and temperature to churn out the perfect loaf of bread—up to 10 loaves per hour hour, the company claims. While the idea of having a robot baker in your home sounds positively upper crust, you probably won’t be able to buy BreadBot for yourself: Wilkinson Baking Company is aiming this at grocery chains, bakeries, convenience stores, and schools. The company hasn’t yet shared how much it will cost to lease one, either.—Lauren Goode
Withings Move ECG
7:40 am: The Apple Watch Series 4 may have made electrocardiograms, or ECGs, the hot new smartwatch feature, but the new Withings Move ECG makes it a lot more affordable. For $130, it can track your steps and sleep like other Withings watches, and also test your heart rate for irregularities on demand … with a year of battery life and a waterproof chassis to boot. Withings, newly divorced from Nokia, says the watch is a medical-grade device currently under review by the FDA. It should come out later this spring.—Jeffrey Van Camp
A Breathalyzer for Diabetes
7:00 am: Monitoring your blood glucose levels via constant, painful pinpricks is one of the worst parts of managing a disease like diabetes. These gleaming pebbles are AerBetics by AerNos, a non-invasive, wearable device that uses your exhaled breath to measure gases that might indicate a hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic episode and monitor them via an app. No more sore fingers! I bet a lot of diabetic kids would be happy to get their hands on one of these.—Adrienne So
More From CES 2019
- Samsung TVs score iTunes and a MicroLED Upgrade
- Get ready to hear a lot more about ‘XR’
- 8 things to expect from this year’s shindig
- ? Looking for the latest gadgets? Check out our picks, gift guides, and best deals all year round
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Source:WIRED
