Raising the Bar for Wearable Fitness

BOSTON, May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Smartwatches have soared in popularity in recent years, with their motion and heart rate sensors tracking the activity of millions worldwide reveals IDTechEx. However, not all activity can be monitored using step counts - limiting the appeal of existing wearable technology to many gym-goers and amateur athletes.

Monitoring specific exercises

Running is one of the most popular activities tracked by motion sensors in watches. They are used to keep track of the distance and speed covered by a runner, complemented by some with heart rate data to show calorie burn and effort level.

Whilst these systems are excellent at measuring the overall movements of a watch wearer in two dimensions, to date they cannot accurately determine movements in a third – height.

Changes in the height of a watch are crucial for monitoring many exercises and movements. Consider sit-ups and push-ups, or a tennis serve and a golf swing. Moreover, consider the impact of gradient during running or climbing that is too subtle to be determined using GPS.

Third-party apps are available to process motion data - and with the right algorithms, this can be successful. In fact, Apple use software to specifically allow users to input data while rowing and swimming.

However, it is well known that many apps to augment wearable sensor data are deleted shortly after download. Moreover, many of the popular features by Apple are still focused on two-dimensional insights; lengths completed in the pool or the number of rowing strokes, for example.

This creates an opportunity for sensor technology capable of accurately determining the height of wearables to disrupt the industry. We are already seeing some companies seek to capitalize on this gap in the market, with Bosch Sensortec adding a miniaturized pressure sensor to its suite of MEMS for wearables. Capable of determining changes in height as small as 50 cm, and small enough for integration into wrist-worn and in-ear devices. Successful implementation is marketed as allowing for the number of push-up reps, length of pull-up extensions, and overall form during strength training to be directly measured.