Apr 17
We really dig RunKeeper, the smart fitness app that keeps track of your jogs
Jan 28
You can shell out between $100-150 for standalone fitness trackers like the FitBit Flex and Jawbone Up24. But chances are, you already own one of the most powerful activity trackers around: your smartphone. All you need are the right apps.
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Nov 05
NWU Develops More Accurate Activity Tracking So Nike’s Next Motion App Will Be Smarter Still
Posted in: Today's Chili
Apps and devices that track motion are of questionable use value – it’s true that they provide a general idea of a user’s activity level, but that can very wildly from reality, since there’s often very little involved in the motion tracking algorithms involved beyond detecting motion and counting that as a step. It’s not often the fault of these devices: as humans, we’re very inconsistent and unreliable in terms of where we keep these things.
Sometimes, your phone’s in your pocket. Sometime it’s in a bag. Sometimes it’s in a holster, if you miss your BlackBerry very much. But the point is, it’s not always in the same place, and where it’s stored can make a huge difference in terms of how accurately it gathers and reports information about the motion and activity of its owner.
A team at Northwestern University wanted to make activity tracking more accurate, without forcing humans to be more consistent in how they use and carry their devices. The result is an algorithm that not only compensates for when a device is carried in a sub-optimal location on a person’s body or in their bags, coats and purses, but one that actually predicts and detects when it’s being carried in different ways so that it can adapt to each new transport scenario without input from the user.
The study describing the NWU team’s work doesn’t deny that there are ways to carry a smartphone that detect motion more accurately than others – that’s still the case. But using the algorithm they’ve developed, people will at least be more likely to get an accurate picture of their daily activity regardless of where they store their phone. And the goal of the team isn’t just to make sure the next generation of NIke+ Move and ARGUS apps are better at telling you you’re lazy; the NWU researchers want to make apps useful in diagnosing and understanding critical diseases with motion-related symptoms, including Parkinson’s.
Study lead investigator Konrad Kording says that he believes smartphones will have crucial roles in personal health in the very near future, and part of preparing for that future involves making sure they not only have the sensors, but also the smarts to make sense of any data they’re gathering.
Oct 09
PUSH Looks To Crowdfund A Pro-Grade Activity Tracker For Athletes For Real Workout Metrics
Posted in: Today's Chili
Toronto-based startup PUSH is hoping to add some professionalism to an essentially amateur space with its fitness tracker aimed specifically at pros and demanding athletes who want data, not vague metrics, about general activity levels. The PUSH can provide solid data about reps, sets, force, power, balance, velocity, max weight, tempo and more to athletes who depend on informed workouts to push themselves further, and it’s nearly halfway to the $80,000 funding goal on Indiegogo it needs to make that happen.
The PUSH is a device that pairs with an elastic armband for wearing while you work out, which incorporates a motion sensor, orientation sensor, Bluetooth 2.1, a rechargeable battery good for between 6 to 8 hours of continual use (or around a week of exercising), as well as a physical button and LEDs for basic input and display. It pairs with a companion app that features an exercise database, motion analysis, sharing and trend tracking as well as visual reporting of the data it collects.
I spoke with Mike Lovas, Chief Designer of PUSH hardware and co-founder of the company. He explained that, while the activity-tracking segment is well-covered now, there’s still a huge gap when it comes to professional-caliber devices – and a strong appetite and willingness among organizations and users to spend on such hardware.
“One of the big things we’ve been really interested in is the pro-level interest,” he said. “A lot of guys from the NHL, NFL, MLB, pro soccer in Europe, rugby and those kinds of high-end users are loving what we’re doing, so that’s been super encouraging.”
PUSH is seeing a lot of that interest being driven at the organization level by coaching staff and trainers who want to help their athletes train more effectively and efficiently; a truly quantified workout routine has the advantage of being able to provide the tools needed for athletes to work out smarter and safer. You’ll have less chance of injuring yourself if professionals have access to more data, and you won’t waste time with exercises that aren’t really adding anything to your existing workouts.
“Sports science is big. Pros are using high-end, expensive research equipment and pay through the nose for that stuff,” Lovas explained, describing how it differs from what’s already out there. “We had this product that we could offer at a fraction of the price, give them similar metrics and also have it so that every athlete could wear this every time they work out, so it’s not just once a month that they could get this data, but every time they hit the gym.”
Individual users can pre-order the device for a one-time fee of $139, but for coaches and teams there’s going to be a subscription software and service product that provides them with a dashboard where they can monitor and compare all their athletes on an ongoing basis. Obviously, the hope is that this becomes a competitive advantage that teams are climbing over themselves to get at.
Lovas also says that PUSH is looking at expanding the types of activity it can monitor with different types of mounts for the PUSH, and could even get into specialized hardware and software for individual sports down the road, depending on how things go. Judging by the progress they’ve made so far toward their funding goal, there’s strong demand out there for this type of thing.
Apr 30
Jawbone Up, an always on activity and sleep tracking bracelet, just became far more useful thanks to a new ability to work with many other fitness applications and devices. It dramatically improves Up’s ability to track things beyond simple movement …
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