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CES goes full pandemic with smart masks, stickers to detect covid and the biggest WiFi update in years
Geoffrey A. Fowler, Heather Kelly, Dalvin Brown and Rachel Lerman, The Washington Post
Jan. 15, 2021
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SAN FRANCISCO - At CES, the tech industry s biggest showcase, covid-19 has inspired new products to power extreme digital living. Here comes a big WiFi update, smart masks and even robot comfort cats.
THE INTERNET This year s Consumer Electronics Show, which typically brings thousands to Las Vegas, looks a little different thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of gathering in person, the tech event moved things online in the first-ever 100% virtual version of the tech conference. Even though everything is online, companies are still showing off their tech. Some devices are a little odd and might make you wonder how someone could ever need a product like that (cough, Petit Qoobo). Others, like a water-powered shower speaker, come as a useful tool many would find helpful.
Here s a look at a few of the weirdest and handiest tech gadgets being presented this year:
CES hosted its first-ever digital conference due to the coronavirus pandemic
The event was set to be held in Las Vegas, but organizers moved it online
Many exhibitors showed off pandemic-related gadgets on Monday
This includes a robot cat that helps ease anxiety and smart masks
There is also a device that detects coronavirus symptoms by monitoring vitals
A virus-killing UV light for keyboards and an antimicrobial backpack were also revealed
An earnest review of a robotic cat pillow
You don’t need Qoobo in your life. Nobody
needs Qoobo, exactly. In fact, first reactions tend to range from befuddlement to bemusement. The robotic cat pillow doesn’t make a ton of sense on the face of it in part because Qoobo has no face.
The handful of times I’ve interacted with the original Qoobo in person, reactions have been pretty uniform. The initial confusion gives way to the question of why such a thing needs to exist. And then, inevitably, someone asks how they can buy one of their own.