Thursday, November 28, 2013

Sport tech tracking clothing

As with all fitness nuts - we love data, obsessed with our performance and to see where you can make even minor adjustments in your training, there's a plethora of gadgets from Nike Fuel Band to a whole host of running apps. But more recently more and more start up companies are looking at ways of incorporating tracking technology into our clothing, still at early stages but here are two examples that I found that interests me; one is called Athos The Athos workout gear has sensors throughout that pick up on muscle exertion from the chest, shoulders, arms, back, quads, hamstrings and glutes, plus heart rate and breathing. The module insert transmits that info over Bluetooth to iPhones and iPads pretty cool and useful for fitness freaks, one slight snag is the price, still pretty heavy but I'm sure over time will come down. The other one I like which is less 'wearable' but more of an attachment almost like a cufflink is a Kickstarter project for a company called Notch currently they are aiming to produce $50 sensors with snap-on mounts, along with athletic and street clothing to hold it. So far, the campaign has raised $10,000 of its $100,000 goal. So they have the price nailed, not as tech advanced as Athos clothing, but as always there's a balance to be struck, in cost over utility. I would out of the two put my money on Athos to win this tech clothing race. Watch this space

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