This year’s edition of the great electronic mass, the CES 2021, was held in a 100% digital format. A brief overview of the products affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

CES 2021 was held virtually, under the sign of the coronavirus

In these times of pandemic, you can remain geek even with a mask! That’s what’s obvious when you stroll through the virtual aisles of the major annual event dedicated to new technologies, the CES 2021 (Consumer Electronic Show), which is being held 100% online and not in Las Vegas in 2021. And what is a geek mask? For gaming hardware manufacturer Razer, it’s a microphone and speaker so you can be understood as well as if you weren’t wearing a mask.

But that’s not all, it is also transparent at the mouth and has internal lighting so that you can still see the lips in the dark. All this in a luminous atmosphere that reminds us of gamers’ keyboards. And in terms of protection, it would be able to filter out 95% of the microorganisms (N95, the American equivalent of FFP2) in the inspired air thanks to fans. Alas, “Project Hazel” is still only a concept that is neither approved by the health authorities nor marketed.

https://youtu.be/FvWiCclESL8

The Honoree MaskFone, which won a CES 2021 Innovation Trophy, is already on the market in the United States. Its special feature: it’s the first mask that comes with headphones! It connects via Bluetooth to the smartphone, making it possible to listen to music or make a phone call more comfortably. It is not approved either, but its manufacturer ensures that it is compatible with anti-particle filters or FFP2 that are inserted inside.

Non-contact and with disinfection

These products are just two examples of the masks that include filters and fans with different sensors to purify the air we breathe presented at the CES 2021. And they are far from being the only products to adapt to this pandemic context. The connected home is also being transformed by the coronavirus. As proof, this intercom, which also received an innovation trophy for integrating a thermometer to take the temperature of its guests while they are in front of the camera.

Better (or worse?), this Plott brand Ettie takes a time-stamped picture of the person and can block the door once the pre-programmed maximum capacity of the premises is reached! Without going that far, Alarm.com offers a contactless doorbell, which is triggered as soon as someone appears in front of the intercom.

Computer solutions

Once inside, go through the disinfection box. One of the original solutions for the computer industry is the Targus UV-C lamp, which disinfects the keyboard and mouse for five minutes every hour (after making sure that no hand is placed on any of them).

What about the phone?

Lexon has imagined Oblio, a small container that acts as an induction (Qi) charger that also has a UV lamp that promises the destruction of 99.9% of microorganisms in 20 minutes.

Robots to sanitize the house

For the rest of the house, the task of disinfection will fall to the robots. Whether at LG, Ubtech, Adibot, mobile machines with UV lamps are legion. Hills Engeneering has even announced its Coro-Bot equipped with articulated arms to identify areas that require proper cleaning and an air purifier that would catch the droplets in which the coronavirus spreads. But the best thing, after all, is not to touch anything and get served. And for that, Samsung represented at the CES 2021 its new Handy Bot.

Thanks to its articulated arm, it can, according to its manufacturer, fill the dishwasher, put a flower in a vase or even serve a glass of wine. The ultimate companion of confinement?