CES Las Vegas: biometric bras to give wacky wearables a lift

Smart belts and biometric bras are among an array of wacky wearables to debut at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas.

Smart belts and biometric bras are among an array of wacky wearables that will debut when the world’s premium consumer electronics show starts in Las Vegas tomorrow.

CES is usually where large companies show their wares, but it’s also a venue for crazy devices.

Last year, quirky French start-up Emiota showcased a belt that looks like a prop from a Star Trek movie. Known as Belty, it is designed to expand and contract with your waistline.

That might occur as you sit down or stand up, but equally after gorging or starving yourself. It has activity-monitoring sensors, and can communicate with its wearer by vibrating their waistline.

The Paris-conceived wearable was the darling of the small tech items revealed at CES Unveiled, a showcase of the world’s most innovative start-up technology.

This year Belty has competition with Samsung Electronics showcasing a smart belt called Welt developed at the company’s Creativity Lab, a place where employees are given the chance to dabble in pet projects.

Samsung says Welt can record a user’s waist size, eating habits, steps taken, as well as time spent sitting down. It sends this data to an app for analysis, and the production of a range of personalised healthcare and weight management plans.

With the waistline covered, a biometric bra called the OM Bra by OMSignal is among the next wave of wearables expected to surface at CES. It was developed by bra designers, scientists and small textile engineers, according to OMSignal’s website.

“The OM Bra is a product of science and engineering as much as … of design and creation,” the website says.

There’s also digital running shoes that in a sports race can beam activity metrics to a “cockpit” in an athlete’s helmet.

Exhibitors will include Marathon Laundry Machines, a washing machine that aims to “communicate in real-time with utilities to negotiate rates and schedule laundry for energy optimal times of day”.

Chris Griffith is at CES in Las Vegas courtesy of Sony and Acer