I-Perskin interactive punching bag cover / I-Pecut
CES 2023 wowed us. Early every January, Vegas goes high-tech: four days of more HD-than-HD TVs, smart-everything, and our robotic future. It’s the CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show. And it’s the ultimate event to get a first look at (and first touch of) the latest in fitness technology. There weren’t any breakthrough products in our wheelhouse of weight-training this year, but that just allows us to go a little further afield—to the bag, the bed, the bed again, and, well, the bowl. This is The Barbell‘s top four in new fitness tech at CES 2023.
I-PERSKIN PUNCHING BAG COVER
I-Perskin is expected to cost around $800.
The world’s first smart punching bag is a hit. I-Perskin by the French company I-Percut (a play on “uppercut”) is a 2023 CES Innovation Award honoree. The cover slips over a regular heavy bag, and its eight pressure sensors transform that bag into interactive targets for boxing, fitness boxing, kickboxing, MMA training, etc. With the I-Percut app, you can plan your training session and create exercises according to your level. Then hit or kick the constantly changing lit sensors. Your workout is gamified and interactive. The I-Percut app tracks your blows, and, post-workout, serves up analytics and offers suggestions to improve your performance over time.
ERGOSPORTIVE SMART BED
ErgoSportive adjustable smart bed with ErgoMattress Hybrid is available now at $4548 for an XL twin, $5298 for a queen, and $7998 for a split king.
Sleep enhancements were big at CES this year. The American company ErgoSportive launched what it calls “the first smart and adjustable sleep and recovery system for athletes and fitness buffs.” It’s a bed, but it’s unlike the bed you’re sleeping on. This 2023 CES Innovation Award honoree features a flex panel design, non-contact biometric health sensors to measure sleep stages and movement as well as heart and respiration rates, a headboard with dimmable LED lights, and under-bed USB ports. Advanced features include the “zero-G position,” which decompresses the spine and facilitates blood flow; “anti-snore,” which detects snoring and automatically elevates the sleeper’s head to alleviate nose-trumpeting; and “relaxation mode,” which stimulates muscle relaxation and recovery via vibration.
Additionally, the smart bed integrates with Garmin smartwatches to monitor energy levels, stress, and daytime calories burned. The ErgoSportive app measures sleep and health data collected from both the smartbed and smartwatch to offer recovery suggestions. “Garmin offers a full lineup of smartwatches purpose-built for active lifestyles, so it made perfect sense to collaborate with ErgoSportive on this first-of-its-kind smartbed designed specifically for athletes,” said Jörn Watzke, senior director of Garmin Health. “Good sleep hygiene is essential for peak performance, and our smartwatches provide robust sleep tracking, a daily sleep score, and detailed insights and recommendations to improve your sleep.”
LG BREEZE SLEEP EARBUDS
Price and availability TBD.
Sleep technology has exploded in popularity this young decade in two categories: sleep trackers and sleep earbuds. Sleep trackers surveil your sleep and crunch the data. Various monitors do this in various ways: watch, headband, ring, under-the-mattress, on-the-nightstand, and, as we just explored, bed. Sleep earbuds mask noise and can provide a soothing, sleep-inducing soundtrack. LG Breeze earbuds promise to excel at both categories: monitoring your sleep and helping you do it better.
The Korean company LG says the 6 gram earbuds use built-in sensors to track your brainwaves throughout the night to determine how much time you spend in each sleep phase (light, deep, REM) and assist you in maximizing your sleep quality by playing specific sounds in response to your brain activity. The earbuds have 80 built-in sounds, such as peaceful natural noises and lullabies. In addition, you can sync the Breeze to other audio sources. The Breeze app shows users their sleep data, including sleep phase analysis, posture, and when they tossed and turned, and it provides custom recommendations. Breeze earbuds also come with an LED ultraviolet case to kill germs and clean the earbuds.
U-SCAN NUTRI BALANCE
Probable price: $500. Plans are to begin shipping in Europe in the second quarter of 2023. U-Scan is awaiting FDA clearance in the USA.
One of the most talked about products at this year’s CES was U-Scan from the French company Withings, and not just because it provides a golden opportunity for puns. The U-Scan, a 2023 CES Innovation Award honoree, is a pebble-shaped device that hangs from the side of your toilet bowl above the waterline. You pee on it, and a little bit of your urine is pumped to a cartridge where it triggers a chemical reaction. This is analyzed, and the results are presented on the app. (The urine is released from the device.) There are two cartridges. Cycle Sync tracks and monitors menstrual cycles, including hydration and nutrient levels. Nutri Balance promises to offer a “detailed metabolic guide to hydration and nutrition.”
Nutri Balance reads your urine’s pH balance (acidity), ketones (carbohydrate levels), vitamin C levels, and water balance (hydration), factors that are especially interesting to dieting bodybuilders but help anyone know they’re getting enough nutrients and water. The Withings app tracks these parameters and offers feedback and dietary and hydration suggestions. It is not meant to supplant medical urinalysis.
Not only can U-Scan tell the difference between toilet water and urine, it’ll even differentiate your stream from someone else’s based on “distance and speed of the flow.” Whoa! The device is rechargeable via a USB-C port, and Withings claims it has a three-month battery-charge, and the internal cartridges also last three months, so you may only need to grab it from your toilet four times annually (U-Scan will also ship with gloves). We’re amazed, but we have one suggestion: Rename it P-Scan.
See also: CES 2021: Best New Fitness Tech and CES 2020: Best New Fitness Tech and CES 2024: Best New Fitness Tech
