Check out these 5 Singapore startups that were at CES 2020

Eureka Park isn't located on the main CES show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center, but that doesn't mean that there's nothing to see there.

The arena is buzzing with startups, many of them working on ambitious ideas and novel tech often focused on solving a specific problem.

Here's a look at five Singapore startups that were at the Singapore Pavilion, where they got to showcase their ideas to industry attendees and media from around the world.

1. A BLOCKCHAIN SMARTPHONE THAT YOU CAN BUILD

Pundi X is a blockchain company that focuses on data privacy and empowering more secure transactions and connections through blockchain technology. Their latest product is the Blok-On-Blok, or BOB, a modular smartphone that's fully powered by the blockchain.

The company is billing this as the world's first true blockchain phone (move over, HTC Exodus), but get this, BOB is shipped out to you in pieces, and you get to assemble it yourself.

The specs aren't much to get excited about, with just a 4.97-inch AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 660 chip, 6GB of RAM, and a 48MP main camera, but that's not really the point of it.

BOB is built entirely on Function X OS, or f(x) in short, Pundi X's own blockchain ecosystem. This means that every text, call, or file shared is completely decentralised and you retain ownership of your data. This is the case regardless of whether you're doing it through a browser or an app.

But if you want a more traditional experience, BOB also runs a custom version of Android 9.0 in parallel, and switching between the two modes is as simple as swiping across the homescreen.

Each BOB functions as a node in the blockchain, and any action that takes place within f(x) doesn't require a centralised service provider or carrier. Naturally, this means that the system gets better as more BOBs are deployed around the globe.

I also need to talk about the design, mostly because of how unlike any other phone it is. BOB is inspired by 80s and 90s sci-fi films, and the design oozes retro-futurism in spades.

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It's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but just look at those knobs - which don't do anything by the way - and warning stripes! It sort of looks like someone shoved a regular phone into a case, but that's the actual body of the phone.

The phone ships with a MOD assembly kit, which includes motherboards, displays, camera components, speakers, buttons, and more. On top of that, you can change the look of the phone by 3D printing different parts. Neat!

The Function X Foundation is also inviting designers to submit their own take on BOB, which could then be integrated into official MOD packages. Pundi X thinks there could be around five to 10 MOD designs for BOB at the end, so users can pick whichever look they like best.

BOB is available for pre-order on Indiegogo now at an early bird price of $749. It's expected to ship to customers in April.

2. AN INDOOR AIR SENSOR THAT MEASURES HAZE PARTICLES

uHoo is a compact indoor air sensor that can detect and monitor a surprising number of air quality parameters. It tracks nine in total:

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Carbon dioxide
• Volatile organic compounds
• PM2.5 particulate matter
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Carbon monoxide
• Ozone
• Air pressure

There's a dedicated sensor for each one of these parameters, and it's almost shocking how detailed and intuitive to operate it is. You simply plug it into a power outlet, sync it with the uHoo mobile app, and then you're good to go.

The app itself provides an easy, at-a-glance breakdown of each parameter, and each figure is also helpfully colour-coded so you know whether you're in the optimal range or need to take some sort of action.

Predictably, green stands for excellent, orange for fair, and red for poor.

At the show floor at Eureka Park, the carbon dioxide numbers popped up in glaring red, probably due to how many people were traipsing around.

The figures are also updated every minute, so you get up-to-date information at all times. You can add multiple devices to the app as well, which allows you to monitor air quality in different locations at the same time.

uHoo sounds like it'll come in handy if you've got family members with allergies, asthma, or other respiratory issues. It won't filter the air for you, but it'll tell you which pollutants are affecting air quality so you can take action.

And even if everyone is perfectly healthy, there are so many parameters that it's still really cool to look at. After all, it can't hurt to know how clean the air you breathe every day is.

3. AN OUTDOOR AIR-CONDITIONER

Okay, I admit, it's a gross oversimplification to call the Airbitat Compact Cooler an air-conditioner. It's more accurately known as an evaporative cooler, and it is the coldest cooler of its size.

Developed by ST Engineering Innosparks, it's designed to cool outdoor city spaces as the world heats up as a result of global warming.

Traditional cooling technologies come at a huge cost to the environment. For example, the use of air-conditioners and electric fans accounts for a fifth of total energy use in buildings and 10 per cent of global energy consumption.

And as we pump heat out of our buildings, the outside world warms up even more.

This creates a need for a more sustainable cooling solution, one that is energy efficient and doesn't generate waste heat.

That's where the Airbitat Compact Cooler comes in - it consumes around 80 per cent less electricity than an air-conditioner of similar capacity. More importantly, it doesn't use chemical refrigerants, CFCs, or emit harmful chemicals.

And unlike traditional evaporative coolers that don't do well in humid climates, the Airbitat cooler is perfectly capable of being used even in Singapore, which is practically synonymous with hot, wet, and sticky.

It utilises a three-step process that the company has dubbed Reevac Deep Cooling Technology.

While conventional evaporative coolers just pass the outside air through a cooling sheet to chill the air (water doesn't evaporate as well in humid climates), the Airbitat first creates cold water via evaporation to generate a reservoir to fuel the cooling cycle.

The air is then passed through a metal heatsink, which removes heat from the air. Finally, the cooled air is passed through a water-laden sheet of sorts, which dissipates even more heat as the liquid evaporates.

The Airbitat is suitable for use in most climates, including arid summers, Mediterranean climes, and even the humid tropics. Compared to regular coolers, the Airbitat is supposed to be just under 3 deg C cooler.

These coolers are already in use in Singapore, and you'll find 32 of its larger City Coolers in CHIJMES.

4. POWER BANKS YOU CAN RENT

Brezze's proposition is pretty simple - deploy stations that let people rent power banks, so no one has to suffer the nightmare of running on 5 per cent battery when dinner hasn't even started.

The company's iOS or Android app can help you find the nearest Brezze station. At the station, you just scan its QR code using the app and collect your power bank.

You're charged according to how long you hold onto it, and you can just return the device by slotting it into any Brezze machine. A receipt will then be sent to your phone.

Each Brezze power bank has a capacity of 5,000mAh, and the newer units even support Qi wireless charging. Of course, they come with all the cables you could need, including micro-USB, USB-C, and Lightning connectors. They're MFI-certified as well, so iPhone owners can rest easy.

5. AN AI-POWERED EMERGENCY BUTTON

Do you need help keeping an eye on an elderly parent who lives alone? Newton's Meter may have a solution.

The company has developed a tiny 14g button that can be worn around the neck, and it'll trigger an alert if it detects a fall.

It can then send an SMS with real-time GPS coordinates to up to 10 numbers - sounds a little overkill to me, but you can never be too careful.

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Alternatively, the button can be programmed to trigger manually.

It's smart too, and there are measures in place that have been designed specifically to avoid false alarms. The built-in AI can learn your walking patterns, generating a unique "motion print" after about 150 hours of use.

Algorithms based on that profile can then detect what constitutes as a fall or accident for you. This means that the fall threshold for a young athlete and elderly person would be vastly different, so your family isn't immediately alerted every time you stumble.

The AI can check for more than just falls too. It can be stuck on your car's dashboard or bike helmet and monitor for vehicular mishaps. In fact, the integrated accelerometer can even tell you whether or not you're riding or driving safely.

The company envisions its device being used outside of the home as well, in hospitals or industrial workplaces.

Receivers placed in the building could detect exactly where patients are when they fall, while the device could also help employers keep track of worker movements.

Funnily enough, it can even detect skiving employees, such as when the device hasn't moved in a while, or if it's in too close proximity with another, which could indicate that the owner has passed it on to someone to try to game the system.

The device is currently available at a promotional price of US$135 (S$182) (U.P. US$150). The technology behind it certainly sounds impressive, but what's even more impressive is the guy behind it.

Siddharth Mazumdar is only 17, and he made his CES debut last year. He has since showed the Newton's Meter to the police, Ministry of Manpower, and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA).

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.