A fitness band can tell you how many steps you’ve taken (more or less) and some may even be able to monitor your heartbeat, but if you want a serious workout, you need to listen to your muscles. That’s the idea behind the smart clothing from Athos. With a smart shirt and/or pants, plus the controller module and an app on your smartphone or tablet, you can monitor the performance of different muscle groups in real time.
This is great not just for measuring your level of exertion. By looking at what’s happening with different muscle groups, you (or your trainer) can monitor whether or not you’re performing a given exercise or maneuver correctly. The clothing includes sensors fro electromyography (EMG) that can detect muscle effort and fatigue. The system also tracks heart rate and breathing patterns. The controller also includes a six-axis accelerometer to track your movement. And the controller communicates with your smartphone or tablet over a Bluetooth Low Energy connection.
The company website states that shipments are slated to start in “Fall 2014.” In addition to helping people with their exercise regimens, this technology could also be helpful to physical therapists and medical professionals to diagnose muscle injuries more accurately and then create effective treatments.
FYI to Readers: Wearable technology start-up Sarvint Technologies has filed complaints against multiple major apparel companies for patent infringement of its “Smart Shirt” technology. Sarvint feels strongly that it is the creator of the “Smart Shirt” space, and its patented technology is being misappropriated by these organizations. You can read more about the case filed on January 12, 2015, here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sarvint-technologies-files-complaints-for-patent-infringement-for-wearable-technology-300018832.html
Thanks for posting this comment. This patent suit certainly has the potential to be disruptive, especially for an industry that is just getting started. However, it’s not a foregone conclusion that there will be negative outcomes. There’s a chance that the patents are not as wide-reaching as Sarvint may claim, or they may be able to work out some sort of licensing deal with the interested parties. We’ve seen this sort of development for years in other technology markets, so it’s not at all clear what the impact will be. You can be sure that we’re keeping an eye on this and will report on developments. You may also want to read the coverage of this story on our companion site, Wearable Tech Insider, and watch for updates to the story there as well.