Some random tech from CES I think is cool

— Dracula Technologies showed off a new manufacturing process for energy harvesting chips designed for wearables. The photovoltaics and electronics are printed onto a sheet of plastic film and can be custom-sized for any application. 

— These systems on a chip from French company Proes place RF boosting technology on modules that can combine LoRa connectivity with satellite connectivity for a two-way communication that traditional LoRaWAN isn’t great at. The satellite connectivity also gives it a long range of more than 1,700 kilometers (1,056 miles) while keeping power consumption at sub 25 milliwatts.

— Babyark is showing off a car seat that I had thought we’d see way back in the early days of the IoT because it’s so mind-numbingly obvious. The car seat uses carbon fiber and airplane-grade foams to protect the baby, and embeds sensors into the seat and the base that attaches to the car. The sensors can tell if the seat is installed correctly, if a baby is in the seat, and if so, whether or not the baby is buckled in. When things are wrong (for example, if someone left the baby in the car) the seat sends notifications to the user’s phone until the problem is fixed. It will be available later this year and cost a pretty penny, at around $990. But it’s sized for a baby weighing 4 pounds all the way up to 60 pounds, which should get the user through several years.

— This smart lamp from Nobi detects people, and can tell if someone is moving about or fallen. The lamp will cost $1,700 and is designed for group care settings to help monitor elderly or at-risk patients. The lamp uses a variety of sensors including infrared so it can detect people’s motions when lit or in the dark.

— Tramontina’s Guru reminds me of my June smart oven, only the product is an intelligent induction burner. Expected in the first quarter at a price between $299 and $349, Tramontina includes the burner, one pan and access to hundreds of recipes. The Guru burner is also a scale so it’s easy to put in the proper amount of food for the recipes. A companion app walks you through every cooking step and handles cook timing as well. I like this product not just for what it does but also because it’s a one-time purchase; there are no subscription fees.