IRL: Living with Withings’ Pulse O2 fitness tracker

Last year, Withings released the Pulse, a Fitbit-esque activity tracker that clipped to your waistband. Its party trick was an optical heart rate monitor built into the back that helped it stand a little taller than its rivals. I reviewed it and liked it, but my feeling then, as now, is that the mainstream will never think a belt-worn pedometer is the best wearable technology can offer. My point was that it’s far too easy to leave the unit on another pair of trousers pants, losing days’ worth of data at a time.

Then, the company surprised us all by rolling out the Pulse O2, which retains the original’s styling and features but can now monitor your blood oxygen levels as well as your heart rate. To me, this seemed like gilding the lily when the company had far more important issues to deal with — like the flaking paint job on the rubber belt clip which perished far too easily in 2013.

It turned out, however, someone at Withings had been checking off my complaints for the second-generation hardware: the matte paint job doesn’t start to scrape off after the first week of use, the optical sensor is more reliable and the belt clip is a little sturdier. None of this really makes the Pulse O2 a worthwhile purchase if, like me, you’re not in love with the idea of a stubby pedometer attached to your waist.

That’s where the new wristband comes in.

The original Pulse shipped with a cloth armband specifically designed to be worn while asleep. This year’s model comes with a rubber-and-metal affair where the hardware neatly slides into a protective clip. Aside from the color (my model is blue, clashing with the all-black Pulse), the band turned out to be this device’s saving grace.

Because the Pulse’s algorithms are rock-solid, it refuses to be gamed, so it won’t pick up additional steps no matter how hard you flail your limbs around. The optical sensor is much more responsive, and the blood oxygenation information is, if I’m honest, a neat trick that did make me briefly obsessed with my own breathing.

There are downsides, like the fact that you have to press the button seven times to see the time, which is at an odd orientation, making the Pulse useless as a watch. That’s why it lived on my right wrist, with the Pebble retaining its position on the left. Useful, but it has made me look like the worst strain of Prize Silicon Valley Dickhead.

Withings has also been spending a lot of time refining its Health Mate app, causing it to improve immeasurably compared to the original companion software shipped with its first smart weighing scales. Now, it’ll offer up detailed — no, ultra-detailed — statistics on your vital signs, as well as pulse monitoring from your iOS device’s camera, which is a handy feature if you’re lying in bed and can’t be bothered to get the device from your bedside table.

I’ve started to recommend the Pulse O2 to people looking for their first fitness wearable precisely because it’s the best example of the form factor you can buy right now. But, really, what Withings is showing here is its potential, and now that it’s announced the Activité fitness tracker watch in the shape of an old-school Swiss watch, I’m seriously hopeful we could be on the cusp of a whole new fitness-tracking revolution.

Filed under: Wearables

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DARPA’s jetpack will help soldiers run faster, stronger (video)

We’ve seen several attempts at making jetpacks that fly, but over at Arizona State University, a team is developing one for those who prefer staying closer to the ground. The DARPA-funded project (naturally) is called 4MM or 4 minute mile, and it aims to develop a jetpack that can provide soldiers that extra boost needed to run a full mile within four minutes. Sure, soldiers are physically fit, but the jetpack will make sure each one can do a 4-minute mile, even if they’re not particularly fast runners, and even if they’re carrying heavy equipment and armor.

Thus far, testers have been shaving seconds off their running time even while carrying the 11-pound jetpack, though the ASU researchers still have a ways to go to achieve their goal. Since being able to move fast without much rest can save your life in the battlefield, Harvard’s Soft Exosuit inventors should totally get together with these ASU researchers to make the ultimate getaway suit.

Filed under: Science

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Via: IGN

Source: Arizona State University

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‘Flame Base’ shirt heats up to keep your temperature just right

Sweaters, jackets and long johns are all “wearables” that keep us warm, but they aren’t all that smart — if you walk into a room that’s too hot or exercise too hard, you need to stop using them to cool down. It’s an inconvenience we’ve grown used to, but we don’t have to put up with it much longer: a pair of engineers are creating new self-heating shirt that automatically adjusts its temperature to meet your body’s needs. Set your desired body temperature and it will heat up to help you reach it, then shut off to keep things from getting too hot. It’s called the FuelWear Flame Base Layer, and it’s already reached its original $20,000 goal on IndieGoGo.

The heated garment was inspired by last year’s Canadian winter — FuelWear’s founders were students at the University of Toronto, and remember shivering on the way to class. Fed up with fighting the cold with traditional clothing, the pair founded the company and built their first prototype within months. After going through several iterations, the model up for production is a simple black number that promises to keep its wearer up to 10 degrees warmer (Celsius) in temperatures well below freezing.

The shirt can provide warmth for anywhere between 3 to 12 hours depending on how much heat it puts out, but all day “use” isn’t out of the question — an embedded sensor keeps track of how warm the body is, allowing the shirt to deactivate during active movement (running, snow skiing) or when the wearer walks into a hot room. That tech won’t come cheap though — the developers are targeting a $250 price when it launches, but it can be had for about $100 less by ordering now from IndieGogo.

Filed under: Wearables

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Via: PhysOrg

Source: IndieGoGo

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Toyota tests ride-sharing with its adorable electric vehicles

“The sharing economy” is a buzzword that’s thrown around to talk about services like AirBnB and Lyft, and now it looks as if Toyota wants in on the trend. The automaker is putting 70 electric cars into commission in France, half of them being i-Road EVs, as spotted by Gizmodo. Instead of competing with the existing public transit system that’s in place, however, Toyota says this will work alongside the city of Grenoble’s infrastructure making the likes of one-way trips, among other things, easier. So long as there’s a drop-off station near your destination, there’s no need to worry about parking or a return trip, either, apparently. Reserving a ride can be handled with a smartphone app and rental fees start at €3 (about $4) — cheaper than minimum fare on Uber. In the land of baguette and interested? Service starts in October.

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile

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Via: Gizmodo

Source: Toyota

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