i3 - March/April 2017 - 34

CES

FITNESS MARKETPLACE

Women in
Consumer
Technology
Celebrates
Honorees

BY ROBIN RASKIN

es, they jumped higher and quantified the output
of the human body better than ever, but there's more
than meets the eye to the advances in this year's
Fitness and Technology Marketplace. With almost 100 companies exhibiting, the show floor looked like a high tech powered
gymnasium. But underneath all that muscle shaping was some
breakthrough tech that made the experience more like having
a private, super-smart, super-human coach.
Valencell powered some of the most important miniaturization
of components, making in-ear "hearables" and other small form
factor devices from companies including Bose, Samsung, Sony,
Jabra, Suunto, and a new rad CES design winner, FIIL. All were
part of Valencell's 15-foot gym.
Fossil and Cloud Tag introduced fitness trackers that looked
good enough to wear without shouting "geek." Companies like
PIQ and Halo NeuroScience demonstrated that the brain and
body work more closely than you'd think. And Under Armour
launched Tom Brady athlete recovery pajamas especially popular
now that the Patriots won the SuperBowl. From pet trackers to

Students Pitch
Business Ideas at CES

MARCH/APRIL 2017

Five students from Basic
Academy of International Studies
participated in the first CES
student business pitch competition. The students were part
of a class that completed CTA's
Future Innovators program,
that teaches students to think
entrepreneurially about
business and life.
During the Shark Tank style
competition, students presented
business solutions that address
challenges in the Las Vegas
community, including a medical

device to increase comfort for
surgical patients and a device
installed in cars to disable
texting while driving. Each pitch
included the costs and potential
profits associated with their
products, the size of the targeted
market, the market competition,
and ideas for marketing.
While all students received
prizes, the winning team
received a Fitbit Altas. The
students were also granted
access to the CES show floor.
CTA members judged the

* Sandy Conrad:
senior vice president of
merchandising, HSN
* Julie Jacobson:
founding editor,
EH Publishing's CE Pro
* Karyn Schoenbart:
president and COO, NPD
* Sally Washlow:
CEO, Cedar Electronics
Holdings Company
* Woman to Watch:
Paris Bradley, product marketing manager, DISH Network
* Carol Campbell
Inspiration Award:
Shelley Zalis, CEO,
The Female Quotient and
creator of The Girls' Lounge
For more information,
visit: womeninconsumer
technology.org.

event including Frank Gruber,
co-founder of Tech.Co Media,
a company combining a tech
media hub with events for
entrepreneurs and Ximena
Hartsock, founder, president
and COO of Phone2Action,
a digital advocacy platform.
Nate Yohannes, senior adviser
and presidential appointee
for the U.S. Small Business
Administration under President
Obama also served as a judge.
For more information,
visit everfi.com.

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

DAVID MCNEW/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Mixed Brains
and Brawn

robot trainers, from wearable
training clothing to gear used
to train Olympic athletes,
it wasn't hard to feel like a bit
of a slacker walking through
this Marketplace.
Kevin Plank, Under
Armour's CEO and one of the
anchor sponsors of the Fitness
Marketplace, keynoted CES
2017, reinforcing the unparalleled innovation in the fitness
arena. On the show floor
stage our camera crew was
busy filming FitnessTech Live
interviews with fitness visionaries. Rodale Publications also
joined dishing out awards for
best products, and then took
the royal booth tour for oneon-one programming with
Polar, FitBit and LumoTech.
It is clear that we're just
beginning to see the benefits of
tech for getting in shape, staying in shape and keeping well.

Women in Consumer
Technology hosted its eighth
annual Legacy Awards at
CES 2017. Honorees included
top-level executives from
retail, publishing, research,
manufacturing, and entertainment who have helped
to push the boundaries at
their companies and empower
other women. The Legacy
Award Honorees include:

http://www.womeninconsumertechnology.org http://www.womeninconsumertechnology.org http://tech.co/ http://phone2action.com http://www.everfi.com

i3 - March/April 2017

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