Category Archives: CES 2018

The Most Amazing Chess Board… EVER!!

February 13, 2018CES 2018, Entertainment, Toys & GamingPLUGHITZ Live

SquareOff electronic chess board So, you see a nice wooden chess board while walking around a large tech show. You glance at it, give a little smile and almost walk right by to the thing that has all of the bells and whistles down the row, because it’s just a chess board, right? Luckily our team didn’t just keep walking when they came up to this one. I have to say that with all of the technology out there and after years of coming to CES, it is pretty rare for us to see a new product demo and have our jaws actually drop. But that’s what happened when we saw the sorcery at the Square Off booth in Eureka Park this year at CES 2018.

Square Off is an automated chess board that allows you to play against the built-in artificial intelligence. So, big deal, right? Electronic chess has been around forever. Well this isn’t your grandpa’s electronic chess. This game is played on an actual, physical chess board with real pieces. And after you take your turn, the built in intelligence not only calculates its next move, but it actually moves its piece on the board. It accomplishes this via built in pressure sensors, magnets and an electronic arm built inside. You have to see it to believe it. It even moves around other pieces and removes your captured pieces from the board itself.

There are 20 different levels of difficulty for playing against the computer, and you can also connect with it online and play with anybody across the world. They have connected with Chess.com so you will be able to challenge any of their 16 million users to a game, at any time, whether or not they have the board as well. The accompanying mobile app connects to the board via Bluetooth. The app is where you set the difficulty levels and search for friends. You can also analyze your games, record and share them and check the leader boards, among other features.

Don’t know how to play chess? No problem! There is a training mode that will not only teach you to play but also how to up-skill your game. Go take a look at the two different models they offer on their website. Pricing for the Kingdom Board will be $330, and the Grand Kingdom Board will be $400.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.
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The Hologram School of the Future is Here!

February 13, 2018CES 2018, Computers, HealthPLUGHITZ Live

HoloAnatomy HoloLens Software Case Western Reserve University has been working with Microsoft HoloLens and the Cleveland Clinic to create the first software for HoloLens to be used in the medical field. The school has been developing this software to be used in their new facility that will house the medical, dental and nursing schools.

The software is called HoloAnatomy and helps teach students without the need to use cadavers and plain 2D textbooks. This application teaches in a 3D hologram style of environment. You will actually be able to walk around the image and even be able to stick your head and hands into the holographic body. Sister software is also being used to view artwork and museums of the world. You can try out this groundbreaking software for free for the HoloLens in the Microsoft Store.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.
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Latest Tech Delivers Important New Brain Test for Athletes

February 13, 2018CES 2018, Health, SportPLUGHITZ Live

Concussion awareness in athletics has become an important topic of discussion in schools and professional sports teams in recent years. Reflexion Edge is an interactive diagnostic tool that is designed to detect and track the onset of these types of brain injuries as part of an athlete’s normal training.

When used as part of daily/weekly performance training, it offers concussion screening and vestibular rehabilitation. Athletes can also use the system to train their cognitive performance on a weekly basis as part of their practice routines. Reflexion Edge searches for concussions that may occur from smaller hits and also the results of mild impacts over time from repeated tackles and checks that would normally go undiagnosed. It is also to be used after each game when the majority of the hits and tackles occur. Unchecked, these injuries could lead to more serious brain injuries later in life.

This tool also increases the athlete’s performance through neurocognitive training over time. They can then look at the leader boards to see how they stack up to their friends and others in their leagues.

Reflexion is currently partnered with two Pennsylvania high schools while ramping up for a launch in May of this year. For more information, please visit their website.

Interview by Chase Lowery of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.
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STEM is for Everybody: Brilliant is Absolutely Beautiful!

February 13, 2018CES 2018, Gadgets, VideoPLUGHITZ Live

Beauty and the Bolt is an online education platform with the goal of lowering the barrier of entry for girls and women that are interested in engineering and technologies. It’s a village where anyone can learn physics, math, engineering, making and more. Their goal is to share engineering and the maker movement in a cool new way and, in turn, increase interest for those who wouldn’t normally be exposed to these topics. There shouldn’t be a set demographic for recruiting engineers. The less we stereotype, the more creativity we will gain. So what better way to show that anybody can create than by framing the movement around the princess Belle and subliminally informing the world that femininity and engineering are not mutually exclusive!

It is commonly known that women and minorities are vastly underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Beauty and the Bolt aims to make learning engineering easy, cheap and accessible for anyone – especially teens and young adults – while also encouraging creativity and individuality.

Having realized that current manuals and tutorials were putting off as many people as they were attracting, the founders set out to make a change. They began producing video tutorials that would be entertaining and engaging for a much wider viewer base. The videos take away the intimidation factor by simply showing a girl complete the tasks. The projects are geared to inspire everyone to learn and create. Their goal is to bring as many resources as possible to encourage and inspire whole new groups of people to be interested in STEM by making the topics as approachable, fun, interesting and affordable as possible.

The YouTube videos that they make are free to makerspaces, as they want to get them into the hands of as many people as possible. They also sell kits in bulk to the makerspaces. Each set has a goal in mind, for example a hand drill kit to get users accustom to using the hand drill and make it easier and less intimidating.

Check them out on YouTube Channel as well as on their website.

Interview by Jacob Cannon of FIRST Looks.
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Your Special Herbal Blends to Help You Relax and Enjoy Life More

February 13, 2018CES 2018, Health, HomePLUGHITZ Live

Oblend botanical extracts and essential oils So many of us are trying to live a more pure and healthy lifestyle. Homeopathic cures and remedies can play a big part in this. And although it is very appealing to cure what ails us with an all natural approach, it’s not always easy to find the right blend of ingredients to fit our own individual needs. Oblend allows you to make a variety of health products, right at home, using plant-based materials, such as botanical extracts and essential oils.

Botanical extracts and essential oils have long been touted as being able to help with everything from headaches to sleeplessness to inflammation and everything in between. But everybody is different and getting the right blend for maximum benefits can be quite difficult and expensive. This is where Oblend comes in. With the help of their mobile app, you are able to identify your specific need and get recipe combinations. And you can choose the best way to deliver the results. You can create vapes, tinctures, culinary oils, massage oils, lotions, drinks, aromatherapies and supplements from legal herbal extracts and essential oils. And that’s just the beginning.

Still in the prototype stage, Oblend will go on resale in March and is expected to begin shipping in July. Pricing is expected to be at about $949. They are currently offering a CES special of 50% off of the March preorders when you sign up for their email list on their website.

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Perfect and Simple Way to Direct Your Smart Home

February 13, 2018CES 2018, Gadgets, HomePLUGHITZ Live

crea.vision connected devices The progression of the smart home went from manually adjusting your lights and thermostat, to being able to make changes on a mobile device, to using voice commands to control these and many other items in your house. How can it get any better than that? Well, if crea.vision has anything to do with it, it can get a lot better.

crea.vision is developing a product that will enhance your intelligent home without the need for a screen controller or even voice command. It will work quietly in the background, yet still be available when you need something. It uses a computer vision sensor that is capable of knowing the identity and location of the people in the home, works with long distances and combines all of this data to automate all of your connected devices.

This new hub will intelligently manage your lighting, climate and entertainment, by learning every user’s preferences and then personalizing each service. So, wherever you walk into the house, the system will make adjustments to your smart devices automatically for you. For example, if your phone is charging and a call comes in, the system will notify you wherever you are in the home and allow you to take it hands free. It will seamlessly follow you as you walk around the house, as will your music or TV shows. So when you are busily getting ready for work, you won’t miss a minute of your media as you move about the house. All connected devices that can be safely connected to the system will be able to autonomously adapt to each individual user.

Creators are designing it around all platforms. It is being built with the user in mind, to be as easy as possible, by integrating in many of the existing third party devices. Current development for consumer use will track as many as 10-15 people within the home. And based upon feedback, they are looking to expand into enterprise solutions as well as enterprise security solutions.

This whole new way of interacting with technology is still in the prototype phase. It should be on the market in about 6 to 8 months. Pricing is still pending, but they will be updating their website throughout the development process. Stay tuned to www.crea.vision for more information.

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Have a Dream to Fly? It’s About to Come True!

February 11, 2018Auto, CES 2018PLUGHITZ Live

Volocopter Flying Taxi Volocopter is building the first Verticle Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft in the world that is unmanned and electric. They aim to make our dream of flying come true while, at the same time, helping to ease the mobility problems that modern cities face. It is more than just a design concept. As a matter of fact, it has already been introduced in other parts of the world and made its North American debut here at CES 2018.

Volocopter is not just for pilots, it is actually the first of its kind being referred to as an AAT (Autonomous Air Taxi). They are looking for it to become the Uber or taxi service of the airways. It is a helicopter that has been built with Super-Drone Technology. This 18 blade head assembly vehicle is 100% electric and has a 30 minute runtime. It is actually being crafted for the masses to be very affordable and not just for private use. It will pick you up and deliver you to your destination just like a taxi would do. The makers of Volocopter have already had their maiden autonomous flight in Dubai. They also had their first passenger/autonomous flight here in Vegas. It was conducted during the Keynote Speech with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, right inside the theatre.

Volocopter’s ultimate goal is to have between 50 to 100 copters flying the airways in any city or urban environment in the world within 2 to 3 years. This is one that we are definitely going to keep an eye on for future developments and updates.

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Captivated by the Invasion with the Head Monster

February 11, 2018CES 2018, Entertainment, MobilePLUGHITZ Live

Monster SuperStar speakers This year’s Monster Takeover was nothing short of a Sound Invasion and we were so excited to be front and center for all of the fun at CES 2018! It kicked off with the press conference that showcased the new and exciting products for this year. Then, during the show itself, getting to see everything in action at the Monster Booth in Central Hall, including the Pure Monster Sound that has been integrated into the Volkswagen R. Also at the booth, we were lucky enough to chat with Peter Miller and then see Iggy Azalea when she stopped by to say Hi to the press and take a brief tour of the booth.

But the definite highlight of the show for us was getting to speak with the Head Monster himself, Noel Lee, before the Monster Concert featuring Joe Perry and Friends. After Noel took a few minutes to address the crowd at the pre-show cocktail party and give a first-hand look at the whole lineup, including the Expanded Blaster Family, he took a few minutes to sit down with us to discuss the new Monster SuperStar Series. With the S200 speaker in hand, Noel discussed the features that makes this line of speakers outstanding. For example, V Sound, which plays from both sides of the speaker to provide an all encompassing sound at any angle, and Monster Talk which allows you to request any song (or genre) from any of the streaming services, or from your own playlist, instantaneously. And we love the aesthetics of the line. They fit in with the Blaster Series just like family, which is exactly how Noel and the entire crew at Monster make us feel.

If you’d like to be a part of the family as well, pick out which SuperStar(s) would best fit into your lifestyle, starting at just $59. Take it from us, you will love the way they sound!!

SuperStar S100
SuperStar S200
SuperStar S300

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.
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Energize Your Tunes with Sound That You Will Treasure

February 11, 2018CES 2018, EntertainmentPLUGHITZ Live

Nahimic headphones software Already a name in the gaming world, Nahimic has now produced software to take the sound from your computer/laptop to incredible heights. This processing and software is aimed at sound correction. They want to make the sound from your games, music and videos better and to also make it 3D.

All speakers and headphones, no matter how expensive, contain some degree of default, especially when connected to a computer. Nahimic’s software will measure and automatically correct for these defaults, no matter how big or small. They accomplish this via a full database of every device built in. The software is installed onto your computer, and once the listening device is detected, it makes the digital corrections instantly. This technology, which is now available for macOS and directly to consumers, improves the sound of the internal speakers or any speaker or headphones that you use. It can increase the volume over 100% and give a full dynamic 3D sound as if you were in a home theater, rather than on a regular pair of headphones.

This software is due to launch in Q2 2018 and will have an annual subscription fee of $34.99.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.
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Marvel at The World’s Most Powerful Communication Tool

February 11, 2018CES 2018, Gadgets, VideoPLUGHITZ Live

Solaborate Hello 2 video conferencing In today’s world, it is more important than ever to keep connected. It can be a challenge to get everybody together for collaboration in the workplace, in study groups and even for event planning. Solaborate has come up with the perfect solution with their line called HELLO. This is not just video conferencing; their products put everything you need to effectively communicate, collaborate and create right at your fingertips. It truly could not be easier.

HELLO first debuted last year as a convenient cross-platform application that allows you to push voice calls, video calls, text messages, live broadcasts, or any other compatible streaming content to your TV by just a swipe on your phone or tablet. And in just one year, they are coming out with a suite of improvements and products to make that communication even better.

With Amazon Alexa and Google Home technology built right in, the 2nd generation, HELLO 2 has also added speakers, touch and auto tilt and hack proof privacy controls. Also added is an array of form beaming microphones for better sound quality, as well as whiteboard and additional screen sharing capabilities.

Coming soon is Hello Touch, the smartest and most affordable 4K Touch TV Powered by HELLO 2 that facilitates real-time collaboration, whiteboarding, video conferencing and wireless sharing. Also coming are Gadget Extensions that include a Controller to aid in gaming and a Hello Button, which is a re-programmable smart button that allows you to control things around you with one simple click.

As part of the open platform, they are also introducing HELLO 2 Creator Edition, which is designed specifically for the developer community. Because the more open collaboration, the better, to bring as many working uses to this amazing and flexible platform as possible.

The first generation of HELLO is currently available on their website and on Amazon for $299. All off the second generation products will be offered on KickStarter in just a few weeks. Keep an eye out for them and let us know what you think.

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