Three startups were big winners at the Consumer Technology Association Foundation Pitch Competition held Friday at CES.
About 100 people watched the event at Eureka Park, the Venetian Expo’s dedicated startup exhibit area.
Louisville, Kentucky-based GoodMaps, a digital mapping company that develops guidelines for indoor spaces to help the visually impaired, took home the top award.
“GoodMaps creates apps that are freely available to users such as the blind or first responders, allowing users to actually use maps,” said Theresa Reno-Weber, Chief Operating Officer of GoodMaps, in a pitch.
Xander, the developer of XanderGlasses, a device for the hard of hearing that provides closed captioning on a screen inside the lens of a pair of eyeglasses, was a favorite product among attendees watching demos.
Nine companies presented their products for five minutes and answered questions from a panel of three judges who will select the gadgets most deserving of the $3,000 prize. Separately, the foundation created an online voting system to allow viewers to choose a “viewer’s choice” winner for $2,000.
At the time of the awards, Stephen Ewell, executive director of the CTA Foundation made a surprise announcement – the second prize of $2,000 was awarded to ReBokeh Vision Technologies for its vision-enhancing technology, which provides a filtering system that can make people with rare eye diseases And the vision of people with diseases becomes clear.
The foundation awards awards to companies with annual revenue of less than $1 million and raised investments of less than $30 million. To be eligible, companies must be exhibitors at CES 2023.
While the competition focuses on products that help people with disabilities, some products aim to enhance people’s mobility through wearable technology, while another is aimed at entertainment. A company called Ohm’s Quest offers a screen-free room escape game that can be played with family and friends like a board game.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.follow @RickVelotta on twitter.