It’s not just computers that Razer is toying with, as it plays with new breeds of accessories meant for you to sit and breathe with.
CES 2021 is showing itself to be truly diverse, and not just because hardware makers are experimenting with new form factors, but because they’re experimenting with new things in general.
You might know Razer for its computers, its phones, its keyboards, its mice, and its headphones, but you might also soon know it for other things: chairs and masks.
We’re not making this up, either. Razer is using CES 2021 to show off some of its concepts, and two of them are for just that, with Project Brooklyn creating a unique gaming chair and desk combined, while Project Hazel is a form of smart mask, with Razer crafting PPE for the current generation.
Both are genuinely out there, but for different reasons.
Project Brooklyn is a gaming chair made with carbon fibre and colourful lighting, incorporating a 60 inch curved OLED display, armrests that roll out into peripheral tables, and feature tactile feedback built into the chair itself.
Looking like a futuristic cockpit, Razer’s Project Brooklyn feels like it would be a modern take on gaming control meant for one person, basically bundling the entire gaming room into one seat of sorts.
“Project Brooklyn is an exciting concept developed on the true essence of a fully immersive gaming station,” said Min-Liang Tan, CEO of Razer.
“The haptic feedback, visuals and overall functional design with attention to ergonomics will deliver a one-of-a-kind gameplay experience,” he said.
It’s a different type of crazy compared with Razer’s Project Hazel, which is showing at CES 2021, too.
While Brooklyn is for sitting, Hazel is for getting up and walking about, with Razer taking personal protective equipment that is the common face mask, and adding rechargeable ventilators with bacterial filtration to deal with 95 percent of airborne particles. That technology also looks like it can be used to cool the face, bringing in air and expelling your breath.
Project Hazel is different from the utilitarian smart mask LG showed off last year, because it’s also clear so you can look through it, and yet includes lights so you can see someone’s face in the dark, evoking a very futuristic look and feel. It even includes a microphone and amplifier to bolster your voice when you speak through it.
“Razer acknowledges the uncertainty in the road ahead, and so it was our duty to help protect our community members and prepare them from invisible threats,” said Tan.
“The Project Hazel smart mask concept is intended to be functional, yet comfortable and useful for interacting with the world, while maintaining a sociable aesthetic.”
However both of these concepts are just that — concepts — with no word on either being made into real things just yet.
