Five more technology offerings from 2016 CES - Part 2

More CES innovations, announcements -- and vice versa.  It's another day (and the last day) of 2016 CES, including more from Eureka Park and Digital Health exhibitors -- please note yesterday's set of six.  Were these the best ideas or the best of CES? Not necessarily -- but they could be useful to older adults -- the reason for inclusion here.  It may seem strange to see long-established companies and literally website-free startups in the same list below. But that is the wonderful thing about CES -- all are walking around breathing the same air and like last year, overwhelming the similarly enormous crowds. Here are five that caught my eye:

• Aerial. "It creates what we refer to as a "sensing mesh", since a person moving within the sensing area disrupts the mesh in a very particular way depending on the location and the activity the person is performing. In this way, what most people technical types think of as “noise” and “reflections” (and see as a technical hurdle to good data transfer) actually turn out to contain a ton of useful information. And that’s the information that aerial’s proprietary technology uses to sense and locate objects, track movement and identify activities. Using machine learning techniques we’re even able to generate unique activity signatures for specific individuals based on their particular behavioral patterns!"Learn more at Areial. 

• Digitsole. "This is the first connected and interactive insole that keeps your feet warm no matter how cold it is .The connected insole is designed to fit into just about any shoe, and features a rechargeable battery which can last up to seven hours of heavy use. You set the temperature via your smartphone. Through the companion app, available to both Android and iOS users, you can warm your feet to a desired temperature, track how many steps you take during the day, check the calories burned, the distance walked as well as your current altitude. A cushion section at the back of the insole softens shock and spreads vibrations, a 'flex zone' allows for optimum natural movement and arch support provides balance." Provided by Glaga International. Learn more at The Verge.

• Lively Wearable. "The Lively Wearable can be worn with either the wristband or around the neck with the lanyard and pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth. "What makes the Lively Wearable unique is that it is designed to fit the needs of both the older adult and the family caregiver, something we have found to be critical to adoption," Inns adds. "This announcement comes on the heels of GreatCall's acquisition of Lively Inc. We've taken the energy of the Lively name and, building on a decade of research and consumer insight, applied it to this innovative new wearable that truly makes a difference in living a safer, more active life." Learn more at GreatCall.

• UnderArmour Healthbox. "It’s definitely worth noting that none of these products are completely new innovations. We’ve seen plenty of fitness wristbands, connected scales, and sneaker sensors before, and we won’t be able to say for sure whether Under Armour/HTC’s products are better until we’ve had the chance to review them in full. But the difference, in this case, is the combination of products and the different software applications they share to. Under Armour over the past couple of years has been building up a suite of popular health and fitness apps, including MapMyRun, Endomondo, MyFitnessPal and UA Record, and says that there are more than 157 million users across all of its apps now. The endgame is not to sell commodity hardware; it's to get people on Under Armour's platform so that they're there when the real innovation happens." Learn more at The Verge.

• VitalSnap. "Validic the world's leading digital health platform connecting healthcare organizations to data generated by consumer and clinical health technologies, today introduced VitalSnap™, a new mobile technology that enables users to easily record health data from their in-home device via their smartphone's camera using patent-pending technology. Validic can then deliver this data seamlessly to healthcare organizations, helping overcome connectivity barriers that limit the overall care experience. A majority of medical devices have limited or no digital connectivity, meaning information accumulates on the device and may never be sent to or viewed by a provider." Learn more at Validic.