Category: fitness
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Google Fit platform aggregates health data
Using a single set of APIs, Google Fit collects and aggregates data from fitness apps and sensors to manage a user’s fitness stream. The platform will work with wearables and other peripherals. To protect privacy, permission is required and data can be deleted. Initally, Adidas, Nike , Intel, LG and Motorola will participate. Nike will add…
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Biometric shirt monitors astronaut vital signs
Astroskin is a prototype medical monitoring shirt and headband for astronauts that could be used to continuously monitor patients. Its sensors record and analyze the wearer’s vital signs, sleep quality and activity level. Data is relayed to medical teams on the ground to monitor a crew member’s health, behavior and performance during daily operations and…
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Apple patents more wearable sensors
Apple Insider reports: “A batch of Apple patent filings published on Thursday describe a system of interconnected sensors — some being wearable devices — that work with an iPhone hub to monitor activity levels, dynamically set or cancel alarms and manage push notification settings, among other automated tasks.” The patents include: Method and Apparatus For Personal…
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Apple patents weightlifting tracker
Apple’s U.S. Patent No. 8,749,380 is a “shoe wear-out sensor, body-bar sensing system, unitless activity assessment and associated methods.” The patent describes a system where a sensor-laden device attaches to a weightlifting bar and counts and displays repetitions. A watch for remote readings is included. It is widely thought to be a part of an iWatch weightlifting…
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Apple focuses on digital health
This week, Apple announced its Health app and Healthkit framework in an attempt to standardize and the collection, display, and interpretation of of personal health data. In a new ad, aired yesterday, the company highlights fitness hardware, including Misfit Shine, Zepp Golf Sensor, Adidas miCoach Smart Ball, Wahoo Fitness Blue and Withings Healthmate, and health apps including Nike+…
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Samsung announces Simband health tracker
Samsung’s forthcoming Simband, pitched as a common platform for wearable health sensor development, will record and analyze user vital signs in real time. Data will be uploaded directly to the cloud, with out the need for a smartphone. Simband has multiple sensors, a thin removable battery and a small motherboard. It is powered by a…
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Smart glasses track fatigue
JINS MEME glasses track the correlation between eye strain and fatigue, and send mental and physical tiredness data to a user’s smartphone. The glasses monitor a user’s eye movements and gaze. They contain small metallic electrooculography sensors in the parts of the frame that touch the bridge of the nose and ears, determining the electrical potential of…
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Wearable data integration quantifies self and dog
As more wearable devices integrate data, Jawbone and Whistle have partnered to combine self fitness tracking with a dog’s activity. The results are presented together in one graph. Through the Jawbone UP app, users can see resting, walking, playing, running, or swimming time with their dogs on their activity stream. Whistle uses a three-axis accelerometer…
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Wearables become beautiful (just in time for Mother’s Day)
The Misfit Bloom is a stylish pendant with the same health sensing technology as a fitness band. A Shine sensor, originally crowdfunded on Indiegogo, is seamlessly integrated into the necklace, providing continuous monitoring of a user’s steps, calories and sleep. As health monitoring becomes ubiquitous, ApplySci believes that the number of fashion forward wearable devices will steadily…
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Gamified wearable activity monitor for kids
LeapFrog has embraced the wearables trend with a gamified fitness band for children aged 4-7. The Leapband screen displays a personalized virtual pet which guides a child through a series of activity challenges and games. The more active they are, the more points they win, and the more games they are able to unlock of…
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Crowdfunded insole monitors fitness
SmartMove is an insole that tracks sitting time, standing, walking, running, and cycling. It is based research that analyzed the gait of stroke patients at University of Colorado Denver, Colorado State University, and Clarkson University. Sensors track one’s movement and wirelessly send activity and calorie burn information to a smartphone. The accompanying app provides real-time feedback and…
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Update: Samsung increases health applications with Gear 2 watch, Gear Fit, Galaxy S5
Samsung has updated its devices as it tries to establish dominance in the health and fitness tracking market. Its Gear 2 watch is now based on Samsung’s Tizen operating system rather than Android. It includes an accelerometer and gyroscope – capable of acting as a pedometer and an optical heart rate monitor. This allows the watch…