CES: Grab a robotic massage from the WheeMe
The tiny WheeMe robot from DreamBots can provide a full back massage when your favorite human masseuse isn't available.
LAS VEGAS--After a long, hard day at CES, there's nothing like a good massage, even if it is performed by a small robot.
Stopping at the booth for an Israeli company called DreamBots, I got a hands-on, or rather backs-on, demo of its WheeMe portable massage robot.
Fitting in the palm of your hand, the tiny massager works its magic around your back by digging in with four studded wheels, or fingerettes. The WheeMe is able to navigate your body without falling off through a series of sensors that tells it when to stop and when to shift into reverse.
How did the WheeMe perform on my back? The device is small and light, so obviously, it can't provide the type of deep Shiatsu-type massage you'd get from a trained professional. But it did give me a tingly sensation that definitely put a smile on my face. And the people from DreamBots told me the massage would've been more intense, had I taken off my shirt.
Retailing for $69, the WheeMe is set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2011. DreamBots tells me that it's moving into manufacturing after having picked up a huge number of preorders from around the world. The company is looking for partners to help with the manufacturing and is planning to open a New York office.