CES: Sands Show Floor and ShowStoppers

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Another area at the Sands was a series of exhibits grouped together by country. While I did not have enough time remaining to visit them all, I did get a chance to see two very impressive pavilions: France and Israel.

To me, it felt like the French were more focused on innovative smart home and IoT devices, and Israel’s focus was more on advanced technology and some devices that will make good use of it. Don’t get me wrong; there were other country pavilions showing innovative and useful devices, with some at CES for the first time this year. This seems to be a growing area, and I believe we will see more countries taking part in the years to come.

I spent the full day at the Sands, and I estimate I saw less than half of what was available. For example, one of the more interesting areas—and one that I did not have a chance to do more than browse quickly—was the innovation awards area. These devices were judged to be the top in their class, and for good reasons.

ShowStoppers

By now, it was getting to be late afternoon, so it was time for a short break; then, I headed to view the exhibits at ShowStoppers. While some of the devices at ShowStoppers are also on the show floor, this event is for press only, which enables us to speak directly with senior management and the inventors and designers of many interesting devices. Some of the things we first saw and reported about some years ago were first seen at events like this. The following shows a sampling of highlights of the interesting products on display as ShowStoppers, along with notes from their associated press releases. Some seem very useful, and others, well, I’ll let you decide.

Avast Omni

A global leader in digital security products, Avast announced the initial release of its new network-based consumer security product, Avast Omni, to Avast customers in the United States. Avast Omni provides protection and insights for all connected devices in the home and on the go through a combined hardware-software solution that easily connects to the existing home router without impacting WiFi performance. As security for wireless devices is becoming a significant concern, and if this proves to be true, and WiFi performance is not impacted, there would be considerable value. Avast was named as a CES 2020 Innovation Awards Honoree for this product.

BRNKL

BRNKL by Barnacle Systems is a security and status system for boat owners who need to be able to check in on their vessel remotely from their smartphone, tablet, or computer. Users can see inside of their vessel using an onboard camera while also monitoring critical alerts such as anchor drag, low batteries, loss of shore power, and high water. Unlike standard marine electronics that provide monitoring while on board, Barnacle Systems provides a global cellular service for remote monitoring. Whether you’re at the dock, at home, or halfway around the world, your boat is at your fingertips.

Caregiver Smart Solutions

Caregiver Smart Solutions was named leading startup at ShowStoppers as well as voted the winner of the 2020 ShowStoppers LaunchIt competition at CES. This company provides people with unmatched insight on their loved ones as they age in place. For more details, click here.

Roxie

Roxie is the first car entertainment that makes road trips and commutes fun again and transforms your car into a hands-free karaoke studio. Everyone, including the driver and passengers, can sing their favorite tunes and the latest hits.

Celestron

Celestron announced a revolutionary new telescope you can control with your smartphone, designed to reinvent the way people of all technical expertise levels and stargazing experience explore the universe.

The StarSense Explorer is the world’s first consumer telescope to affordably offer sophisticated sky recognition technology used by professional observatories, using existing smartphone camera hardware, to quickly determine telescope positioning, facilitate sky mapping, and seamlessly guide users to thousands of celestial objects.

Artie 3000

Artie 3000 from Educational Insights is a code-to-draw robot that puts kids in control from beginner to pro. Kids can learn amazing coding languages, ranging from easy-to-use drag and drop to advanced line-by-line writing using Macs, PCs, phones, or tablets. As kids tell Artie 3000 what to draw next, they learn left-brain skills like basic programming, geometry, and math.

Stern Pinball Inc.

Stern Pinball Inc. is a global lifestyle brand based on the iconic and outrageously fun modern American game of pinball. 

“CES is one of our favorite events and the perfect place to showcase our newest hit game, ‘Stranger Things,’ and our affordable home pinball machine, the Star Wars Pin,” said Gary Stern, chairman and CEO of Stern Pinball Inc. “Tech and pinball fans alike will get the chance to play all things pinball at the Stern booth.”

Conclusion

Of course, there were many more companies and products out there, but you get the idea. Every year, ShowStoppers and a similar event, Pepcom, demonstrate many new devices and technologies. Again, some will become devices we can’t live without, and some you will never hear about again. Seeing all of these new ideas is one of the highlights of attending CES.

Stay tuned for the next article as I explore the main show floors at the LVCC and see the latest and greatest from TVs to drones, computers, and autonomous and flying automotive products.

Show floor photo credit: Dan and Racheal Feinberg

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