CES 2021 Smell Tech Highlights
A roundup of smell tech at CES2021. On-the-go and customizable scent, smell for health and pregnancy, and eco-friendly enzyme powered air filtering systems. Take a look.
CUSTOMIZABLE SCENT EXPERIENCES
NINU Slovenia: Ninu
On-the-go smart perfume, consisting of a dispenser bottle housing three fragrance cartridges and an app that allows users to create their own perfume blend on demand. The Ninu is capable of dispensing scent in an almost endless number of ratios, enabling a custom perfume to be created and worn depending on current moods and needs. The app is accompanied by AI perfume master “Pierre” who will assist you in making compositions and will still allow you to mix and tweak the fragrance based on your personal preference.
KOHLER Wisconsin USA: Stillness Bathtub + Infinity Experience
A smart bathtub and infinity experience inspired by Japanese forest bathing. The Infinity Experience begins with water filling the 48x48-inch tub from the bottom and flowing over the infinity edge onto the Hinoki wood mote, creating a soothing sound. The Experience Tower fixture mounted on one side of the tub creates a layer of atmospheric fog over the surface of the tub and houses three compartments for essential oils. The release sequence and timing of essential oils can be controlled through a smart app together with a full spectrum of lighting colors that surrounds the outer wall of the tub.
GM CADILLAC MI, USA: Halo Portfolio Pav Pod
A fully autonomous social and lifestyle space designed to carry the passengers in bespoke comfort. The Pod Car concept uses biometric sensors to read vital signs and adjust temperature, humidity, lighting, ambient sound and scent to passengers liking. Adjustments can also be made to the interior using voice and gesture to optimize the sensory environment.
SENSING DAILY HEALTH
NANOSCENT Teradion, Israel: Scent Check
A scent recognition technology driven by machine learning has been developed for use in detecting gas leaks, health markers, cow pregnancies and now the novel coronavirus. According to NanoScent the proliferation of virus cells among the microorganisms that inhabit the noses of Covid-19 patients produces a distinct smell that can be detected. Enter Scent Check — the Covid-19 breathalyzer. The device consists of a disposable plastic bag attached to an exhaling pipe that fits into the nostril. This piece is connected to the “nasal scent recorder,” a box with the chip to analyze breath. Blow into the device and within 30 seconds, the chip completes its analysis. No nasal swab required.
TOTO Fukuoka, Japan: Wellness Toilet
A smart toilet that uses sensing technologies to support consumers’ wellness by tracking and analyzing their physical status. Each time an individual sits on the toilet, it scans their body and its key outputs, then provides recommendations to improve their wellness. This technology seamlessly works with your daily routine (as long as you are at home) as all the health tracking occurs each time you take a regular bathroom break. Health recommendations are then shared via a mobile app, including changes you can make to your diet.
Oova New York, USA: Oova Kit
A fertility diagnostic company spun out from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Oova uses biochemistry and artificial intelligence to learn a woman’s fertility profile. Through an app, 15 disposable urine testing strips, the test’s unique QR code and a display stand, it can read and record hormone levels over time. Oova can help a woman get pregnant, identify reasons she is having trouble getting pregnant, and even expose reproductive health issues like PCOS.
Airthings Oslo, Norway: Virus Risk Indicator
Airthings sensors do not measure nor detect viruses in the air. The Virus Risk Indicator uses data from Airthings the Wave Plus Device that tracks CO2, humidity, and temperature into a custom-developed algorithm that calculates the risk of airborne virus spread in an indoor space. It evaluates four factors that have direct relationships with indoor airborne virus spread and then assigns a ranked risk level ranging from one to 10. These factors include: Virus survival rate, Room occupancy, Ventilation rate and the effectiveness of our bodies to defend against airborne viruses (affected by temperature and humidity). The Airthings sensor also measures radon, VOCs, pressure, and relative light intensity.
ECO-FRIENDLY AIR PURIFYING
LUFTQI Taoyuan, Taiwan: Luft Duo
A portable air purifier with a washable mesh filter. The compact Luft Duo uses UVA LED and photocatalytic technology to remove dust, pollen, mold, VOCs and pathogens from the air without a traditional filter. Luftqi says it can be used in cars, airplanes, and other confined spaces. It doesn’t produce ozone or any other gas except water and carbon dioxide in the process. The Night Mode setting that allows the purifier to run more quietly and with lower light levels.
ONELIFE North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: OneLife X
An air purifier featuring dishwasher-safe filters and a plasma cleaning method. The OneLife ‘s X works by generating ionized particles that change the state of harmful particles already floating around in the air. Plasma purifiers permanently remove pollutants from the air. The outer shell of the X is partially constructed from sustainably sourced bamboo, with low power requirement and according to OneLife the machine works silently.
CLEANAIRZONE New York, USA: CAZ & BioCAZ
An air purifier that cleans the air by filtering it through water and a proprietary microbiotics and enzymes a formula replicates nature’s three- billion-year-old process of cleaning the atmosphere. CleanAirZone uses the electrical charge of harmful airborne particles to capture them inside a filtering device. The BioCAZ Solution is dissolved in water and uses oxidation to eliminate allergens, bacteria, odors, viruses, germs, cigarette smoke, and chemical fumes. All contaminants are broken down into harmless organic compounds. The system can capture ultrafine particles as small as 0.00006 microns — significantly smaller than what HEPA or Ionic air purifiers can capture. It uses just 0.6kW of electricity per day, far less than other air purifiers. Though it doesn’t have filters to change or clean, it does require water about once a week (unless it is connected to a water line) and fresh enzyme solution about every four months.
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