TOUCHLESS TAKEAWAYS FROM SIMPLEXITY CLIENTS AT CES

The world was a very different place in early 2020 when we attended the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), one of the largest trade shows in the United States. Over 170,000 people from around the world gathered, shook hands, stood next to each other, and conducted business face to face while watching some of the latest technology on display. As we went to check out the latest tech and visit some of our clients at CES, little did we know it would be one of our last trade shows and social gatherings for the foreseeable future. Shortly after the show ended, concerns started to grow as reality set in. We were about to face a world were COVID-19 was about to drastically alter millions of lives. At the time, we weren’t thinking about the ways in which our clients’ innovative products could potentially make it easier to cope in a future society seeking increased touchless options.

Let’s revisit some of the amazing tech that could really benefit a society trying to limit contact points for efficiency and safety.

Picnic at CES 2020

Picnic and the Touchless Robotic World of Food Prep

In a touchless world of food prep, robots are coming to the rescue. A previous Simplexity client, Picnic, was on display and ready to show off its ability to assemble up to 300 pizzas per hour! While some initial food handling will be necessary, it would be very difficult for humans at restaurants and stadiums to produce at that speed, and this robotic food system has the ability to take countless hands out of the prep process. Using only one set of hands to prep the machine might make a world of difference when trying to limit human contact with food.

Picnic in Action:

As much as we love our pizza, there are many types of food that this system can produce. The modular design allows configurable equipment with software, cloud, and deep learning technology. The intelligent end-to-end automated assembly platform is designed for the high-volume foodservice and hospitality industries. By honing in on accuracy and avoiding food waste, costs are reduced, and recipes are preserved, saving money, and avoiding consistency issues.

Picnic’s robotic pizza system is made up of a series of modular components that can be customized

Picnic caused quite the buzz in a pre-COVID-19 world, and we imagine that the need for touchless food options will only continue to grow from here. Check out some of the press they received from Geekwire, Seattle Times, and Robotics Business Review.

Ossia at CES 2020

Ossia Wireless Charging Technology

Ossia’s award-winning Cota technology delivers targeted energy to devices at a distance without pads or other induction or contact-based charging. The patented RF smart antenna technology automatically keeps multiple devices charged wire-free! Cota, which works similarly to WiFi, sends power instead of data to all Cota-enabled devices simultaneously.

Wireless Power at CES

Ossia’s recent FCC approval offers safe power to devices at a distance while meeting the FCC’s stringent Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) requirements for safety.

Ossia showcased its new Cota HOME solution at CES 2020. The Cota HOME solution is a 30 X 30 centimeter transmitter that can power multiple devices automatically and simultaneously.

Cota HOME solution

Here are a few ways Ossia technology is being used to drive wireless charging solutions of the future, and not just in the home.

Ossia and Xirgo partnered to jointly tackle the COVID-19 pandemic by collaborating to integrate Cota® Real Wireless Power™ into the Xirgo product line.

Xirgo needed to adapt products to provide tracking of critical equipment for the medical industry, including machines that operate in harsh medical environments like operating rooms and ERs. Since devices contain openings and ports where viruses and bacteria can hide, they need to be sterilized between patient use. By incorporating Ossia’s Cota technology into devices, they can now be designed to be completely hermetically sealed with a single, smooth enclosure. No longer are charging ports or permeable housings for batteries needed as power is delivered wirelessly, allowing for fewer steps in the sterilization process.

With Ossia’s Cota technology, additional products can be made truly touchless to users. By providing power over-the-air and on-demand, customers no longer have to worry about handling devices to replace batteries or charge them, removing key contact points for portable electronic devices. Additionally, supporting Industrial IoT wireless power means that devices are no longer constrained by the limited power capacity of batteries providing a richer feature set and more real-time updates for enhanced cloud connectivity.

If you want to learn more about the engineering and development of the Forever Battery, check out our case study!

Touchless Tech is Advancing Rapidly  

Many companies that make hands-free devices and products are seeing an increase in inquiries and demand. Technology is already fast-changing and in a world where touchless interactions are the new norm, we must learn to find new ways to innovate, especially when the solutions may already be at our fingertips. Some of our clients at CES were already offering touchless products and we can’t wait to see how they continue to bring much needed solutions to the world.

If you are looking to develop an innovative product, please contact us to learn more about solutions that can benefit your product design!