CES 2017 - Health, Fitness & Wellness Technology - Intel & New Balance RunIQ (part 4)

I spent a good amount of time at the Intel & New Balance booth at CES 2017 looking over their

collaboration in producing the RunIQ system for both the bike and runner. They had parallel demos going on and had a great transparent display to show real-time stats of heart-rate, RPM, power, cadence, distance, and time.

Now this was by no means the only fitness tracker on display at CES but this was probably the best explained and demonstrated that I saw.  Check out the video I captured to see the real-time data displayed.

We had this discussion in class about the utility of such devices, however some still don' t think that technology will replace humans. They will assimilate!

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Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) - Mini-Doc

This is the arcade game that got me interested in the world of technology and fitness, so when I saw this video on Arcade Heroes, I had to put it up here as well.

One sentence stood out to me was "DDR saved the arcade industry in Japan." I wonder what facts led the filmmaker to that conclusion and how many others also believe this?

I agree with the face that DDR is extremely social in nature, but it can also be intimidating to people who are apprehensive about "performing" in front of others....which is why it is important to have good coaches/teachers to guide them through the learning and improvements stages.

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CES 2017 - Health, Fitness & Wellness Technology - Sensoria (part 3)

On my 2nd day of CES 2017, I got a chance to spend some time at the Sensoria booth with an eye on all of their products and their upcoming "pod" which will require a new "2 prong" attachment, which coincidentally the previous version of the snap-in attachment was universally accepted with other sensors (Polar, Suunto, etc...). 

The big hit was the Sensoria Sock 2.0 and Smart Shoe and I also got a chance to hold the newer "peanut" sensor which is incredibly lighter, more versatile, and easier to attach to various body parts. Many people wonder if having all this technology and information will actually improve performance and maybe even require less human coaching. Essentially will technology replace humans?

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CES 2017 - Health, Fitness & Wellness Technology - Onitor (part 2)

CES presented a lot of new experiences to this conference-hound, but I never anticipated the sheer scope and volume of exhibits, presentations, demonstrations, and hungry entrepreneurs out there. I've been to AAHPERD, IHRSA, GDC....but this was something completely different!

Some of the booths were easily $1M to design, manufacture, ship, and send to Las Vegas in time for the show.

A new company that I had not heard of before is Onitor which displayed their activity tracker and new fitness app. With heart rate sensing and triaxial accelerometer, it has the same basic features as the other dozens of fitness trackers at CES.

I was most interested in how their new app will have customized workouts and meal plans based on user inputs and health and fitness goals.

I was told they have their product in a university-lab to do some validity studies - and I mentioned to them that I would gladly entertain future collaborations for usability or validity projects.

More information can be found at:
http://onitor.com/specifications.html

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CES 2017 - Health, Fitness, & Wellness, Technology (part 1)

Attending the CES has been a bucket list item as I would usually be watching events stream live from my computer, but this year I had the chance to spend two days at the largest consumer electronics expo in the world in Las Vegas.

One of the booths that was showcasing at CES was Peleton Cycle which is promoting itself as "Indoor cycling: reimagined for the home."

I like to classify these platforms more as a bike simulator with some gaming components built-in. including social networking, and responsive bike settings (elevation, intensity, pace). What I worry about most is the biometric feedback that could be collected and fed into algorithm to ensure exercise safety (but I understand that may open many companies up to liability and negligence claims).









We've featured exergaming bikes for a long time on this blog including a (at the time) comprehensive review of exergame bikes)

1. http://www.exergamelab.org/2015/06/virtual-reality-fitness-latest-fitness.html
2. http://www.exergamelab.org/2014/03/fivis-bicycle-safety-simulator-exergame.html
3. http://www.exergamelab.org/2013/11/cyberbike-smart-tv-exergaming-on.html#more
4. http://www.exergamelab.org/2012/04/mario-kart-exergame-bike-mod.html
5. http://www.exergamelab.org/2012/05/exergaming-co-play-friends-with.html
6. http://www.exergamelab.org/2010/01/get-your-bike-on-exergaming-bike.html
7. http://www.exergamelab.org/2010/06/heart-rate-and-perceived-exertion.html?spref=tw
8. http://www.exergamelab.org/2009/10/hondas-bicycle-simulator-for-safe.html
9. http://www.exergamelab.org/2011/06/exergaming-heart-rate-and-perceived.html

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Pokemon Go - Simple game or health intervention?

After reviewing a couple of research studies on the latest exergaming craze - Pokemon Go

(Summer 2016), it was interesting to see this study released in the British Medical Journal regarding the health impact of playing.

Results

• NSD in physical activity (steps) PG players vs non-PG players in 6 week trial
• SD in steps taken in early weeks

Discussion

• As in many exergaming studies, the short-term always bodes well for the interaction and physical activity, however the long term effects are always (almost) weaker and sometimes NSD.

 (via Techcrunch)

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