K-startup products sweep CES 2021 innovation awards honors

A number of products and technologies of Korean startups have received Innovation Awards honors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, the world’s biggest tech exposition.

According to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of the exhibition, about 260 Korean startups have participated in this year’s CES, up from 113 companies in 2020, and several of them won honors from more than 1,200 nominees across 28 product categories.

Among the Korean honorees are AlgoCare, H Robotics Inc., Luple Inc., Vtouch Inc., Hills Engineering, Lululab Inc. and SoftPV Inc.

AlgoCare was named an Innovation Awards Honoree in the Healthcare & Wellness category. AlgoCare is an Internet of Things solution that provides personalized nutrition management at home and at work.

H Robotics was an honoree in the Healthcare & Wellness sector with its state-of-the-art robotic device, rebless, which provides motion to a patient's elbow, wrist, knee and ankle joints.

Its Assist-as-Needed technology provides assistance to a patient to complete the desired movement only when the patient is in need of that assistance.

Luple, another Health & Wellness honoree, won the honor with Olly, a portable sunlight solution that uses lighting LED to control the amount of melatonin secretion in the body so that users can sleep well.

Vtouch was given the honor award in the Computer Peripherals & Accessories, Smart Cities category. Its virtual touch technology allows users to "touch" the screen of a device or objects without actually touching it.

WINNING TECH REFLECTS CHANGES IN DAILY LIVES AMID PANDEMIC

“This year’s CES Innovation Awards reflect the changes brought about by technology in daily lives. Korea’s startups, closely tracking the trend, were able to score big this year,” said Kookmin University’s electronics department professor Jung Koo-min.

Hills Engineering won the honor in the Robotics category with its Coro-Bot, an anti-virus disinfection robot equipped with a V-Arm and an H-Arm that are flexible and thus suitable for many different environments.

It also has an articulated robot arm to cover uneven surfaces and an air circulator to sterilize airborne coronavirus droplets and other viruses with its far-infrared ceramic filter.

Lululab was named an honoree in the Smart Home category with its Lumini PM, which provides personalized beauty and healthcare service through mobile applications based on analyzed skin data using AI and deep-learning technology. It functions as an at-home skin assistant by recommending the most appropriate cosmetics, homecare devices and healthcare products.

SoftPV won the awards honor in the Sustainability, Eco-Design & Smart Energy sector with SOFTCELL, a tiny solar cell made of spherical silicon.

SOFTCELL is designed to generate electricity not only under the sunlight but also with indoor lighting. Moreover, it can be integrated with other electronic components such as LED, sensors, communication chips and micro-batteries working as an active multi-functional module.

Write to Min-Ki Koo at kook@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.