The best (and strangest) tech we found at CES 2023 - The Washington Post

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If you’re thing similar us, the archetypal thought you had upon entering virtual world was: I privation I could odor worldly successful here.

Okay, possibly not the very first thought. But according to Vermont-based start-up OVR Technology, adding scent to virtual experiences opens a caller realm of possibilities for gamers, retailers and health-care providers. At CES, it expanded connected its existing offering — an add-on instrumentality for VR headsets — and dropped a stand-alone wearable with an odor-filled cartridge that pairs implicit Bluetooth with gaming systems, mobile devices oregon desktops.

Smell plays an important relation successful our limbic systems — which power emotions and behaviour — truthful adding scent to a virtual retail grounds oregon therapeutic VR situation tin alteration the mode radical respond to it, OVR CEO and co-founder Aaron Wisniewski said successful an interview. In hospitals, for example, OVR’s tech is being tested to assistance pain victims negociate pain. It’s besides courting large retailers to adhd scent to at-home buying oregon fancy selling exhibits.

There are limits, of course. Lingering smells thin to blend into 1 another, truthful OVR indispensable marque its whiffs arsenic abbreviated and chiseled arsenic possible, Chief Business Officer Chris Scott said. And immoderate smells don’t heighten the acquisition — does anyone privation to odor humor successful a shooting game?

We tried OVR’s headset accessory to larn what odor could adhd to a romp done VR. The virtual roseate we plucked from the virtual crushed smelled floral connected 1 extremity and peaty connected the other. An oceanside smelled similar lavender. A waterfall was oddly vanilla-ish. OVR’s smell-a-verse isn’t elegant, but it’s the archetypal iteration of thing that mightiness 1 time look arsenic earthy arsenic the scent of writer astatine a park.

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Let’s beryllium honest: sometimes successfully scheduling an assignment with a doc feels similar winning the lottery. To help, Samsung — yes, that Samsung — is trying to marque it a small easier to get aesculapian expertise successful the moment.

As usual, the institution showed up with a bevy of flashy televisions successful tow, each of which tin usage a built-in Samsung Telemedicine app to spell retired symptoms and link to a “relevant” doctor. (The camera, however, isn’t built-in — you’ll person to bargain 1 separately.) The champion part? Samsung claims you’ll mostly beryllium capable to get a health-care nonrecreational connected the enactment successful astir 60 seconds, astatine which constituent you tin unpack your concerns and beryllium done a fistful of distant exams.

Once that’s done, the institution says, you’ll person the enactment of scheduling a follow-up assignment and adjacent getting a medicine filled remotely. If that each sounds conscionable a small excessively convenient to beryllium true, well, you whitethorn beryllium close — beauteous arsenic they are, nary of Samsung’s eye-catching TVs present successful Las Vegas were connected to doctor’s offices oregon hospitals.

But what if you'd alternatively springiness yourself a checkup instead?

If you already bought a compatible camera, a caller Health Monitor app volition usage it to adjacent astatine your look and measurement captious signs similar bosom rate, breaths per infinitesimal and humor oxygen saturation. This diagnostic leans connected a process called distant photoplethysmography, wherever bundle tracks infinitesimal colour changes connected your look arsenic you respire and isn’t arsenic kooky arsenic it whitethorn sound. Still, there’s astatine slightest 1 imaginable drawback here: This tech whitethorn not enactment equally good connected everyone.

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Your pee contains each sorts of clues astir your health, but usually it takes a travel to the doc to commencement decoding them. Withings, a “connected wellness care” institution that makes astute scales and watches, is trying to lick this occupation with a sensor wrong your toilet.

The device, called U-SCAN, measures the constitution of your urine and delivers insights to an app connected your phone. Two archetypal user versions, disposable soon successful Europe, show nutrition and menstrual cycles, respectively, by tracking components specified arsenic vitamin C and hormone levels. The sensor looks similar a palm-size achromatic disk that sits nether the beforehand rim of the toilet bowl. (If you pee lasting up, you’ll person to marque immoderate adjustments.) The institution touts “changeable investigation cartridges,” truthful immoderate rubber gloves mightiness travel successful handy.

Beyond usage astatine home, the instrumentality whitethorn besides beryllium utile for aesculapian professionals monitoring patients and conducting research. Withings says it tin adjacent assistance surface for bladder and ovarian cancer.

For evident reasons, we didn’t trial this 1 connected the amusement floor. But with the ubiquity of health-tracking and sensors connected your wrist, your digit and your bedside array — your toilet seems similar the inevitable adjacent frontier that companies will tout.

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New refrigerators usually marque for immoderate of the slightest absorbing reveals astatine CES, unless — similar LG’s MoodUp fridge — they’re specifically designed to commencement a party.

For one, it changes colour to suit your temper for the infinitesimal — not to notation your adjacent room overhaul. Thanks to its LED-laden doorway panels and a useful smartphone app, owners tin take betwixt 23 colour options for the apical fractional of the fridge and 19 for the bottom. (Don’t worry: If the thought of each that mixing and matching is making you anxious, you tin occurrence up a preloaded taxable instead.)

As if that weren't enough, the MoodUp fridge besides packs a built-in Bluetooth talker for playing audio from connected gadgets nearby. Of course, it wouldn't beryllium a enactment without a airy show, truthful the fridge's LED panels tin beryllium acceptable to alteration colors to the bushed of whatever's playing done the speaker.

This mightiness each look similar immoderate silly fun, and connected immoderate level, it is — but determination truly are immoderate applicable benefits connected connection here. Our favorite: The fridge doorway panels volition blink to fto you cognize erstwhile they’re not afloat closed.

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We’ll support updating this communicative for the latest developments. Follow america @chrisvelazco and @Tatum_Hunter_ astatine CES this week. Or email america astatine yourhelpdesk@washpost.com if you privation america to trial thing that you’re spotting astatine CES.