It was always going to be the case that wearable technology
would be big at CES this
year, but when WIRED.co.uk hit the show floor in Vegas, we
found some fascinating new devices in the health and fitness
categories that offered unique takes on what defines wearables as a
category.
Similarly, we discovered some health and fitness products out
there that weren't wearable and went beyond activity tracking to
enhance our ability to take better care of and have better control
over our bodies.
Here's a round-up of some of the highlights.
Oku
Oku skin coach is a tiny cube that basically acts as your own
personal dermatologist. Using multi-spectral light and sensors, Oku
can peer down through the layers of your skin to analyse your
tissue structures, including oil glands, collagen, and elastin. A
full assessment of the state of your skin health will be sent to
your iPhone via Bluetooth and will provide recommendations on how
to improve it.
Oku is available now for pre-order. It's priced at $250 and is
expected to ship this spring.
Emiota Belty
At first we were sceptical when we laid eye on Emiota's smart
belt prototype. Primarily we questioned why you would need to wear
an activity tracker in the form of a belt, but then we heard that
Belty has another trick up its sleeve too. It remembers your ideal
belt settings for when you are standing and sitting and adjusts
automatically when you transfer from one to the other. It can also
sense when you've had a big meal and loosen of its own accord.
There's still some work needed to neaten up the design of Belty,
but as a concept it sounds pretty solid. It should hit the market
later this year.
SmartMat
The SmartMat is more than just a yoga mat -- it also acts as a
yoga coach. Prop up your iPad in the mat's dock and thanks to a
subscription model you'll have access to yoga classes that will not
only provide you with tuition, but advice thanks to a layer of
sensors inside the mat. These sensors will detect your balance and
alignment in over 60 different poses and give you real-time
feedback on how you can improve.
The SmartMat was a successful Indiegogo project that had raised
around $320,000 when it ended last month. You can pre-order the mat
now for $297.
GoBe
Healbe's GoBe fitness tracker has raised some eyebrows by
claiming that it can track calorie intake purely from a wrist-based
sensor. Healbe stands by this claim however, producing several
independent studies to support it, and says that its Flow
technology analyses your glucose levels to judge how many calories
you have consumed in a way that is more accurate than manual
calories counting. We'll wait to see how this stands up to further
testing before giving it our whole-hearted seal of approval, but if
it does work it is certainly an interesting piece of
technology. The bulky module on the top could do with being
downsized, however.
TempTraq
TempTraq is a wearable thermometer based around tiny battery
technology that is designed to give parents peace of mind when
their children are ill. The one-use flexible thermometer sticker
wirelessly transmits real-time temperature readings to your mobile
phone and will send you an alert if a fever spike occurs. The
technology is currently awaiting FDA approval in the US in order to
be sold as a medical device, and the company is also seeking CE
mark approval to sell the device globally.
Tao
The Tao chair has to be one of the most unusual things we've
seen at CES this year. With a stylish design, you might never know
that this piece of furniture is also a connected home gym -- aside
from the tiny display in its arm. Thanks to curvaceous arms and
flexibility, the chair can provide a full workout for the upper
body and send your results to your smartphone.
Xon
Xon's snowboard bindings are perhaps the coolest piece of niche
sports technology we've seen at the show. Attach the SNOW-1
bindings to your board and link them up with your smartphone and
they'll record, visualise and analyse your ride for you. As if that
wasn't sweet enough of a deal, the bindings also contain LED strobe
lights that give you feedback on your riding position and will let
others know your position if you're sliding down the slopes after
dark.
Quell
Quell offers wearable pain relief by using sensors to stimulate
nerve endings in the calf, which send signals to your brain and
trick it into releasing its natural opiates. Promising up to 40
hours of pain relief on a single charge, this strap-on device will
also track your sleep so you can see how much the pain is affecting
your sleep quality. It's already been approved by the FDA in the US
to be sold as a medical device.
Quell will cost around $250 (£165) when it goes on sale this
spring, although comes with a money-back guarantee, as while the
technology has been proven to work for most people, it doesn't work
for all.
UpRight
The mission of UpRight is to train you into improving your
posture, and in the process eliminate your chances of developing
back problems. This tiny wearable device has been designed to sit
in the small of your back and provide subtle vibrations to alert
you when you are slouching and need to straighten up. It sounds
ideal for desk workers, but due to the fact that you can learn to
have better posture, it only needs to be worn for a couple of hours
each day, until over time you naturally stand tall and graceful
like a giraffe.
Fitbit
Fitbit has launched two new wearable activity trackers at the
show this year. First up is the Charge HR, which measures your
heart rate and displays it -- along with other information -- on a
tiny screen that runs the width of the band. It will also deliver
notifications from your smartphone direct to your wrist.
For those who want even more in-depth performance information,
the Fitbit Surge is your chap. It offers GPS tracking, heart rate
monitoring and music control, delivering the information to a
larger, square screen. The Surge is wider and less discreet than
other Fitbits, but the fact remains that the company is still
producing some of the most attractive fitness trackers out there --
and there were plenty on show at CES this year.
Source Article from http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-01/09/ces-health-and-fitness-tech http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/d_f/fitness-8.jpg
Top health and fitness tech from CES 2015
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