Category: fitness
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50 Cent’s biometric, battery free earbuds
A fun highlight of CES was rapper 50 Cent‘s demonstration of his new wearable, BioSport In-Ear. Infrared and accelerometer sensor data will be sent to one’s smartphone via the audio jack, and processed by software that monitors heart rate and steps taken. Wearers can play music in accordance with those metrics to help sustain a…
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Smart earring monitors heart rate, calories, activity
Ear-o-smart is a crowdfunded smart earring that monitors heart rate, calories, and activity level. Its sensor is combined with a changeable earring. Its app, via voice instruction, tells wearers to speed up or slow down based on heart rate data. The tiny wearable was created by minimizing PPG Technology and Bluetooth data transfer. PPG…
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Multiple measurements, including blood pressure, from shirt sensor insert
Nike was recently awarded a patent for a skin-touching sensor system that can be inserted into a shirt. It can measure heart rate, blood pressure, hydration, and skin temperature, and transmit the data over radio frequencies, Bluetooth and WiFi. If it works, the ability measure blood pressure from shirt sensors, combined with other vital signs, is…
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Gamified fitness with Atari classics
Atari is entering the digital health space, using classic games like Pong, Breakout & Centipede to incentivize users to participate in fitness challenges. The gamified app is called Atari Fit and includes circuit workouts and running programs. Users exercise individually or with friends while earning points to unlock Atari games. The app includes ranked leaderboards where…
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Flexible, wearable, disposable pulse oximeter
Conventional pulse oximeters use LEDs to send red and infrared light through one’s fingertip or earlobe. Bright, oxygen-rich blood absorbs more infrared light, and darker, oxygen-poor blood absorbs more red light. The ratio of the two wavelengths, determined by sensors, reveals how much oxygen is in the blood. Berkeley professor Ana Clauda Arias has built pulse oximeter…
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Smart sports equipment provides real-time feedback
Sports equipment with embedded sensors enable virtual coaching by analyzing performance and providing real-time feedback and training programs. A few examples follow: The Babolat Play Pure Drive tennis raquet calculates power, impact location, and type and number of strokes with a Piezo sensor in its handle. The sensor measures frame vibration and a microprocessor with…
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Smart bike tracks health
Baidu‘s DuBike is equipped with multiple health tracking sensors. It collects information on pedaling frequency, foot pressure, heart rate, velocity and seating pressure. The data is synced with a mobile app and analyzed to provide suggestions to riders. Bike routes and meeting points can be shared socially. A handlebar guidance system tells riders when to turn, and…
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UP3 – fitness tracker or medical monitor?
As fitness tracker features become increasingly similar to those of medical devices, Jawbone will release a powerful, fashionable, sensor based wristband. The UP3 will be stylish, with its Chanel-like quilt pattern and slim form. It will also include multiple temperature and motion sensors, and four electrodes that send electrical signals into wrist tissue. Using bioimpedance analysis, the…
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Microsoft aims to “unify & democratize” health data
Microsoft Band tracks heart rate, steps, calorie burn, and sleep quality. The company’s ambitious goal, according to Yusuf Mehdi, is “to unify all that (collected health) data and democratize it, and then add some real value on top.” The cross-platform cloud service, by Microsoft’s Health Group, stores and accesses all the data a device or…
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Sweat sensor patch tracks health
University of Cincinnati professor Jason Heikenfeld and US Air Force Research Laboratory’s Joshua Hagen are developing a perspiration sensor patch to monitor electrolytes, metabolites and other biomarkers. The patch currently includes a sodium sensor, a voltage meter, a communications antenna, microfluidics, and a controller chip that’s externally powered by a smartphone. It is printed onto…
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Crowdfunded kinematic wearable assesses joint health
runScribe, a wearable being crowdfunded on Kickstarter, has a 9-axis kinematic sensor, capturing 3D images of a runner’s gait. It assesses foot strike type, stride length and contact time. Upgraded versions access 13 kinematic metrics, including degrees of pronation and accelerometer data. The company claims that casual through ultra-runners can benefit from the device. They are…
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Foot sensor for health, fitness, immersive gaming
Boogio detects up to 65,000 points of pressure via sensor layers that clip into shoes, plus and accelerometer and Bluetooth LE radio to communicate with a user’s phone. It detects body weight, gravitational force exerted, balance, and pressure along the feet to determine if a user is leaning. Applications include monitoring injury recovery, the gamification…