It has never been a better time to be a nerd getting into shape. Over a year ago, the Core Performance Center opened in Santa Monica, CA, which captures users’ biofeedback (heart rate, power output, VO2 Max) to generate future workouts through a complex rules engine. With so much data to play with and learn from, the Core Performance Center is a nerds’ paradise.
Since then products like the Fit Bit have been released that track things like how restful your sleep is and how active you are during the day. Fit Bit and Nike+ also come along with endless data graphing opportunities to help users to visualize their progress. With smart phones, even casual runners can track all of their running routes/pace with apps like RunKeeper. Once a workout is trackable, untrackable workouts barely seem worth the effort.
The latest product development in this trend was announced in January. The WIN Human Recorder system was launched in Japan. It is a device that “continuously tracks the wearer’s biometric state, including heart rate, brain waves, accelerated velocity, body temperature, and respiration. With a battery lasting three to four days the device is meant to be worn on the body at all times, transmitting data wirelessly to PC or mobile device” (via PSFK). The purpose of the device is for monitoring elderly people who live remotely and can measure everything including stress level and detect fluctuations in heart rate. With so much data potential, I am sure us fitness nerds will figure out a way to co-opt it soon.
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