On the second day of CES 2023, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, visitors are examining Minions internet routers at the Davolink booth inside the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, USA, on the 6th (local time).
[Las Vegas=Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] The popular character 'Minions' appeared at CES 2023, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition. Minions are animated characters popular in the United States and Europe. Two arm-sized models of Minions characters 'Kevin' and 'Bob' from the animation were displayed at a booth inside the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, USA. Every visitor passing by the booth stopped and asked, "What is the identity of this model?" It turned out to be a wired and wireless internet router (AP) released by Dabollink, a B2B specialized network device development and manufacturing company with 23 years of experience.
The internet router, which is useful but usually just takes up space once installed, was transformed into a cute decoration. On the opening day of CES, the 5th (local time), about 300 people visited. Heeduck Park, CEO of Dabollink, said, "We have secured a solid position in the B2B market, where quality standards are strict and technology is more advanced, so we needed a new source of revenue," adding, "We judged that there is potential in the B2C business and devised a product targeting this market."
On the 6th (local time), the Dabolink Minions Wi-Fi wired and wireless internet router displayed at the Venetian Expo booth in Las Vegas, USA.
'Kevin' is equipped with a Qualcomm chipset from the United States, and 'Bob' has a Realtek chipset from Taiwan. Since software stability and accuracy were secured, the product design was differentiated. The antenna was also removed. Hardware team leader Jaewon Jung explained, "Even with an internal antenna, there is no performance degradation."
The goal is to expand beyond the domestic market to overseas markets. Representatives from Verizon, the largest telecommunications company in the United States, and local retailers Costco and Walmart have already visited the Dabollink booth. CEO Park said, "The ultimate business goal is to expand overseas to the United States, Europe, Japan, and so on," adding, "We are currently negotiating development rights with Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom."
In the same exhibition hall, there was also a booth where visitors could experience the so-called 'digital dementia vaccine.' It is software called 'Superbrain DEX' developed by Rowan, a digital therapeutic device company, which stimulates the brain like a game using tablet PCs to prevent dementia. It provides customized cognitive training content according to individual cognitive abilities and aims to activate attention, spatiotemporal ability, calculation and language skills, frontal lobe function, and memory.
Rowan involved more than 30 medical professionals from the planning stage, including Professor Na Haeri of Bobath Hospital’s Neurology Department, who was the personal physician of the late Shin Kyuk-ho, Honorary Chairman of Lotte Group, and Professor Choi Sunghye of Inha University’s Neurology Department, who is also the chairman of the Cognitive Intervention Therapy Society.
Patients with mild cognitive impairment rapidly progress to Alzheimer's dementia within 3 to 5 years after diagnosis. It is important to delay the progression to severe dementia through intervention therapy at an early stage, but currently, there are no suitable alternatives.
Seunghyun Han, CEO and founder of Rowan, said, "It is important to prevent the progression of dementia at the pre-dementia stage," adding, "'Superbrain,' a collective intelligence of dementia experts, has proven cognitive improvement effects through clinical trials involving 150 subjects."
On the second day of CES 2023, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, held on the 6th (local time) at the Rowan booth inside the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, USA, an employee is seen explaining to visitors.
In addition to completed research, an extended study using non-face-to-face multi-intervention therapy is underway with 300 participants, aiming to complete the research within this year. Rowan’s Superbrain DEX is currently undergoing clinical GMP application procedures for approval as a digital therapeutic device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and a clinical trial plan is being prepared for large-scale clinical trials. To enter the global market, an interview was conducted with FDA officials in October last year for the FDA pre-submission preparation, and related procedures are planned to be completed within this year.
Within two days of the CES opening, representatives from global pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer in Germany and Mitsubishi in Japan, as well as various investment firms, visited the Rowan booth. Seiji Yamaguchi, who works at the Japanese consulting firm Bakerant, said, "Among our clients, pharmaceutical companies already have dementia-related drugs, but due to the nature of dementia, combining digital therapeutics would be more effective," adding, "It seems to have business potential in Japan as well."
The U.S. digital therapeutics market, which was $2.3 billion in 2021, is expected to grow to $4.422 billion this year, nearly doubling in two years, according to Frost & Sullivan.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
