British companies to watch at CES 2016

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is the key venue where electronics companies reveal their latest tech and innovations for the year ahead. Since it launched in 1967, CES has been the first place where some of the world’s most well known devices were first unveiled, such as CD players and Microsoft’s Xbox.

These days, a small minority of companies such as Google often host their own events, but the vast majority still reveal their most gleaming, innovative products at CES. Besides more traditional consumer electronics firms, today’s Internet giants like Amazon attend the show, and even car companies to show off the latest in-car gadgets.

At CES this year, there are 42 UK companies set to exhibit (including 11 startups). While there are too many to mention, here’s a quick rundown of a selection of British companies to look out for at the show.

ARM

Website: www.arm.com

ARM is a British success story, a top-performing FTSE company and ranked number 5 in Forbes’ world’s most innovative companies list (Tesla Motors ranks number 1, by the way).

ARM processors also power the vast majority of mobile handsets, accounting for an incredible 95% using their designs, or custom variations thereof. Even companies like Apple and Qualcomm base their own processors (such as the A9) on ARM designs. For example, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 features a 4-core ARM Cortex A57 and a four-core ARM Cortex A53.

ARM is also active in other segments such as the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile network infrastructure, mobile graphics, and servers, so it’s definitely one to watch out for.

CloudTag

Website: www.cloudtag.com

CloudTag is a new UK start up using accurate medical-grade technology for the consumer health and wellbeing and fitness markets.

CloudTag Track is a health and smartphone app that works in conjunction with a wearable device (acting as the ‘brain’) that constantly monitors users’ heart rate to produce highly accurate and personalised data and promotes fitness and nutritional advice via a smartphone to help individuals achieve their fitness and weigh goals.

CloudTag’s first product is a dual-purpose wearable fitness and heart rate tracker that can be worn on the wrist and chest. The device is the first of its kind to offer clinical grade ECG heart rate monitoring and personalised advice. The device is 18-30% more accuratethat any other algorithm currently available (according to Essex University Sports trials in 2015).

The product has been in development for 8 years with world leading technology partners in nano-electronics, medical technology and software development to deliver the most highly accurate solution. The device is available with either a premium leather strap or a silicon strap in a variation of colours and the detachable device has a brushed aluminium finished, and will retail for £79.99.

The product is set to launch at CES on January 6th 2016 and will be available to purchase in March. For more information, visit www.cloudtag.com.

Chargifi

Website: chargifi.com

If you’re one of those people that tends to run out of mobile power on the go, Chargifi has a pretty interesting solution. Through a combination of an app and a wireless charging dongle, it lets you find the nearest free charging points based on your location, such as at the nearest coffee shop.

The dongle itself plugs into your phone’s charging socket, and then simply placed on the special charging indicator at the specified location.

It’s certainly one of those products that could save you when your battery is about to go and makes it pretty easy to find a convenient spot to top up. Simple and elegant.

Cambridge Consultants

Website: www.cambridgeconsultants.com

Ahead of their exhibition at CES 2016, Cambridge Consultants has announced SparTag, a small tag that can be attached to the end of a baseball bat to measure a player’s swing – coupled with a connected system to analyse the raw data collected, interpret it and turn it into actionable information to improve a player’s technique.

A full product video that demonstrates how it works can be found here.

Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide.

For more than 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of more than 500 staff, including engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK), Boston (USA) and Singapore, Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, digital health, oil and gas, and wireless communications.

They are well seasoned CES goers and have won the “best of CES” hosted by Engadget.

Pace

Website: www.pace.com

Pace is a leading provider of technology solutions to the PayTV and Broadband industries. Pace empowers service providers to simply and cost-effectively innovate at the speed they want, and to define the evolution of their networks in the way they want for their subscribers.

Pace is perhaps not very well known to ordinary consumers, as their technology powers many of the Internet and TV services that we take for granted, often rebranded with cable / Internet TV companies’ brands.

Besides the set-top-boxes that can be found in homes around the world, Pace also offers smart home accessories, wireless accessories, content distribution systems, streaming services, telecommunications equipment, and wireless devices (such as routers, gateways, and the like).

NCTech

Website: www.nctechimaging.com

At CES 2016, British company NCTech will be showcasing iris360 – a new panoramic camera system that quickly captures high-resolution, 360 degree images from four sensors.

The new iris360 is the world’s highest resolution, fully automatic, 360 degree HDR camera that’s designed to streamline the capture and upload of 360 degree images to Street View.

You can view a selection of sample 360 degree images on Google here.

If you’re lucky enough to be going to CES this week, it’s worth popping over to the stands of the aforementioned companies to catch a glimpse of their latest tech and gadgets.

Meanwhile, Mobile Industry Review will be offering more CES coverage later this week.