Practical or impractical, here are three items from the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that caught my attention:
Motion Pillow's second generation pillow, available in April, has air bags that inflate to reposition the sleeper's head, improving airflow through the nose and temporarily silencing snoring. An app analyzes your data so you know what others had to hear. (motionpillow.com, $420)
Vinyl turntables were everywhere on the CES show floor, but one company, Tangible Formats, has taken it a step further by offering a service to cut custom vinyl records. There's several options to choose from; one is a custom 12-inch vinyl record for $60 (7 and 10-inch also available). It includes up to 22 minutes of audio per side, full-color labels and cover foldovers, an inner white paper sleeve, and an outer clear poly sleeve. I watched Tangible Formats making records in minutes and the final product looked perfect, just like advertised, with the durability, look and sound of pressed vinyl. (tangibleformats.com)
Smardii is developing a smart diaper to be the future of elder care. Using disposable sensors embedded into a brief layer, and a reusable, rechargeable, waterproof disk called the Puck, it detects urine, stool, temperature, body positioning and runs a real-time urinalysis, collecting the information wirelessly for medical staff. (smardii.com)
Gregg Ellman, Tribune News Service
