The Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program acknowledges the most innovative consumer technologies in 34 product categories from audio accessories to eco-design. Sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), products are judged by a panel of designers, engineers and trade. Honorees are announced in the fall and are featured at the show in a special “Best of” display.
Although I’m always blown away by the product designs by many of the Innovations honorees, as the Lab’s Healthcare Director, I’m especially interested in advances in the Health and Wellness category. We’ve seen amazing advances in this category in the last few years, and here are some of this year’s best:
This year’s health and wellness category winner, the Fitbit “wellness-tracker”, tracks your fitness and sleep activity. It’s super tiny, kinda cute and wireless. You can clip it on your PJs to see if you are getting good quality sleep. Or put it in your pocket to calculate distance walked. Adding a social media element, you can log on to the Fitbit website to join your friends and family in fitness challenges.
Acuvibe’s Human-Touch HT-1280 is a very sleek and minimalist handheld personal massager ergonomically designed to provide muscle relief in those hard to reach areas (shoulders and the mid-back).
Philips’ go LITE BLU promises relief from winter blues, sleep problems and jet lag. It’s light therapy that is compact, portable and sleek.
Starkey Laboratories, Inc. was recognized for their Zon, a hearing device developed with an elegant design and sophisticated color palette to match natural skin tones and hair.
Two of Able Planet‘s technologies designed for individuals with hearing loss were honored: Sound Fit In-Canal Technology Delivery and Sound Management System, the first user-controlled in-canal delivery sound and audio system, and their LINX DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology creating a “live”
listening experience complete advanced noise management.
These honorees have earned the right to place the coveted Innovations logo on their product’s packaging and advertising, and join a very select group for the best designed products in consumer technology.
