CES 2018 Trend 3: Digital Health Matures and Diversifies
Compared to the past few years, this CES has a notably decreased number of wearable devices on the show floors. The ones that remain, however, are mostly for a singular purpose — gathering data for digital health management. While some might see this as a regression of utility that signals a dimming future for wearable devices, we regard this as a necessary developmental stage for wearables to shed off some of the inflated expectations of earlier years and refocus in a use case where it can truly provide value for consumers.
In particular, a trend of diversification among digital health gadgets took over the Sands Expo this year as many pop up in new categories. Everything from a Fitbit for your ear that tracks hearing health to a pair of sleep glasses that uses light therapy to help regulate circadian cycles and fix jet lag, from a connected mouth guard that evaluate crash impact for athletes to an implant tracker that monitors how orthopedic implants are doing and send RFID updates, digital health wearables are becoming increasingly specialized, fulfilling all kinds of niche use cases.
Some digital health products are zooming in on using advanced sensors to offer preventive solutions. For example, L’Oreal introduced a new wearable UV sensor so small that you can stick on your nails to know when you’ve had enough sun and avoid skin cancer risk. Cocoon Cam debuted a baby monitor that uses computer vision to track an infant’s breathing pattern. RightEye’s EyeQ system uses eye-tracking to monitor brain health and to help detect brain injury. Then there is Allergy Amulet, a portable food allergen and ingredient detection device.
Beauty tech, in particular, also continued to have a strong showing at CES. From a countertop device by Romy that creates personalized skin-care at home to a hair analyzer by Schwarzkopf that creates customized shampoo, data-driven personalization is the name of the game. Neutrogena, for example, created a skin scanner that analyzes your facial skin condition to create personalized daily beauty regimen and skincare advice.
Sleep tech was one of the breakout areas of last year’s CES, and it continued to grow and evolve this year. Besides the returning exhibitors such as Sleep Number and Zeeq smart pillow, there are some new players on the scene as well. For example, Sensorwake unveiled its plan to crowdfund a nighttime scent diffuser to aid sleep, and Dreamlight’s smart eye mask emits different colored lights to help you fall asleep and wake up.
Overall the health tech section showed solid growth and diversification at this year’s CES. A through line for most of these niche products, however, is the way they take data collected by wearable sensors and computer vision and run it through a proprietary software to help users make sense of that data and offer concrete feedback and suggestions.
For brands, particularly those in the healthcare, fitness, beauty, and pharmaceutical businesses, how to leverage those insights to offer hyper-personalized solutions and preventive care for consumers remains a big issue to be explored.
