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Health and Wellness Wearables

ECHO H2 smart patch accurately monitors body with Bluetooth

It’s now a well-known fact that the wrist isn’t the best place for fitness tracking. Between most devices unable to know the difference between walking and typing and the inaccurate relationship between steps taken and calories burned most rely on, this isn’t entirely surprising.

Instead of relying on the limited information supplied by the wrist, Kenzen’s ECHO H2 uses a person’s own sweat to more accurately glean all sorts of information from the body, from heart rate to calorie intake and burn. Since the measurements are based on biochemical processes, the results are way more accurate; it’s like having a lab nearby at all times.

The ECHO H2 is notable because it takes the form of a wireless smart patch that uses medical grade adhesive to comfortably stick to a person’s calf or abdomen for up to a week straight. Over this time, it continuously monitors aspects of the body’s functions, alerting users with buzzes and sounds when they should ease up to avoid overtraining.

Although it uses Bluetooth LE to connect with a smartphone, it fortunately isn’t necessary to bring one along, a death knell to a lot of other fitness trackers. The ECHO H2 itself stores data that later can be synced with the robust mobile app, which offers capabilities like custom notifications, reporting, and team tracking. For $89, backers will receive 20 reusable and disposable patches along with a fully unlocked mobile app, expected to ship on July 2015. The campaign is looking for $75,000.

The ECHO H2 is extremely similar to the LEO in that they both keep an eye on user’s activity through sweat, but the LEO is a lot bigger than the tiny ECHO H2. With the LEO being reusable, though, it bodes much better for the environment when compared to the ECHO H2’s disposable nature. Both are technologically impressive, and gym rats and fitness freaks will be interested.

Categories
Connected Objects Health and Wellness

Atlas carries the weight of exercise knowedge on its shoulders

editors-choiceThe Premise.  You’ve watched what you’ve eaten, been walking the dog regularly, and re-repurposed that dusty, laundry rack back into a treadmill, but your weight loss has hit a plateau and you’re ready for the next level.  Fitness charts, daily journals, progress analyses and beach body, here you come! On second thought, you’ll just buy a piece of equipment to handle all that stuff for you… except for the actual exercise part.

The Product.  Atlas is a wrist-worn fitness tracker that can track time, heart-rate, reps, and even evaluate your form.  It achieves this through 3-D tracking and a bank of (potentially, by the time of release) over 100 exercises.  It can differentiate between exercises like squats and deadlifts, double curls from alternating curls, learn new exercises, and even discount exercises that aren’t done with proper form… so don’t try to cheat. It does not require dedicated software, is compatible with Fitocracy, MapMyFitness and other fitness programs, and allows you to create your own apps using its open API. Atlas is waterproof down to one meter, employs standard USB charging, has enough battery life for seven long workouts, a 30x15mm display screen, offers replacement bands, and is even left/right hand compatible.

Amiigo
The Amiigo was another Indiegogo fitness tracker that claimed tracking of specific activities.

The Pitch.  Atlas’ developers worked with professional trainers, fitness gurus, and their local fitness community to keep in touch with customer needs, and develop criteria of proper exercise form.  The campaign page shows off the “exercise fingerprints” it has devised, which are  snapshots of the Atlas’ graphic analyses. The page also includes a FAQ section that addresses everything from international shipping to metal allergies.  The well-produced video consists of the company’s CEO walking through a gym, delivering the essentials of the written pitch.

 The Perks.  The Atlas will run $160 ($130 for early backers), including a free six-month trial of fitness software.  Perks become much more complicated, including a $900 six-pack for trainers, a $1,500 option that entitles you to preload a custom exercise to be included with every shipment, and a “developer model,” Atlas.

The Potential.  Other wireless activity trackers can be had for as little as 60 bucks, on up to about $180, but none with the capacities or versatility of the Atlas.  And with technology sophisticated enough to differentiate between swimming strokes, track exercises as vague and obscure as rope-climbs and battle-rope work, and help you anticipate and overcome plateaus, the Atlas may be a bit toward the pricier side, but may be the exercise tracker that workout enthusiasts have been looking for.