LAS VEGAS - Daily tasks such as wearing jewellery and brushing teeth are a challenge for Ms Roberta Wilson-Garrett, a retiree who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2018, causing her hands to tremble uncontrollably.

The former social worker, 66, said this has been her life for more than a decade – every decision she makes must factor in limitations imposed by the disease, which is caused by the deterioration of nerve cells in the brain. 

But a new gadget developed in Singapore has helped her regain some control over her tremors.

It comes in the form of a glove equipped with a gyroscope that counters the movement of the wearer’s wrist, reducing trembling due to Parkinson’s disease – which is said to affect roughly three in every 1,000 seniors in Singapore – and other conditions. 

While wearing the glove, Ms Wilson-Garrett can write legibly – a task that was nearly impossible in the past.

“It has been night and day for me,” she said, “and it brings back some humanity that we take for granted.” 

The glove was created by health tech start-up Gyrogear, one of 13 companies based in Singapore showcasing their innovation at the Singapore Pavilion of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 in Las Vegas.

The large show floor hosts more than 1,000 start-ups eager to woo potential clients and investors. 

The Straits Times highlights the technology flown in from Singapore to Las Vegas for CES, which runs from Jan 9 to 12. 

Air-conditioning on your wrist 

Feeling hot all the time? Local start-up Silent Cicada has developed something unconventional to help beat the heat – a watch that cools the surface of your wrist and the blood flowing through it.

The watch is an alternative to cooling fans, bulky cooling suits and portable air-conditioners worn on the neck, which founder Jing Che said pose health risks as they trick the brain into not perspiring – an important part of the body’s heat regulation system. 

Just larger than an Apple Watch, Silent Cicada’s device has a battery and a cooling plate, which is backed by a tiny computer chip to draw heat from the skin and cool it, allowing the user to feel a chilly sensation. 

Silent Cicada is in talks to trial the device with outdoor workers and to work with academic researchers to study how the user’s brain perceives temperature while wearing such devices.

In early tests conducted by the firm, the average perceived temperature among 20 participants was 0.875 deg C less than the actual temperature. 

Advanced tracking device

Smart trackers are handy, but what happens if you lose an item that the tracker is attached to in a high-rise building? 

This is the problem that location intelligence developer Tack – another Singapore-based start-up showcasing its innovation at CES – aims to solve with its GPS tracker, which can pinpoint its location on a map as well as elevation, allowing the user to locate roughly where in a building it could be. 

The dongle requires a SIM card and can track its location across more than 120 countries. 

Singapore at CES 

Enterprise Singapore director of advanced manufacturing Anne Ho said roughly 50 companies have exhibited in the Singapore Pavilion at CES, the world’s largest consumer tech trade show. 

Exhibitors range from consumer and lifestyle product makers that build smart home tools and wearable devices to those in digital health and wellness tech. 

This is the fifth time Enterprise Singapore has participated in the show since 2018.

Participating in shows like CES has resulted in successful outcomes for Singapore companies, said Ms Ho.

For instance, myFirst, an electronics company behind an ecosystem of gadgets and a social network aimed at children and families, signed multiple deals with European distributors in 2023, said Ms Ho. 

Other companies that have returned to CES include keyboard-maker Monokei, which secured new business leads after participating in CES 2023, said Ms Ho.

The home-grown company has developed a cult following among keyboard enthusiasts and launched a slim-profile custom keyboard at CES 2024.

Correction note: An earlier version of the story stated that Tack’s trackers are Bluetooth-operated. This is incorrect. We are sorry for the error.