Category: Gadget

Get GPS to Get Wet and More

Global Positioning Satellites, or more commonly GPS, have really changed our lives. Developed for the military, these evolved in use to provide driving directions. But in recent years these devices found a role in fitness and health, providing a way to track distance of sport watches and other workout equipment.

But even as Timex noted last year, GPS doesn’t work in all conditions, notably in space (not much of a health issue), indoors or worst of all underwater. This is why training watches aren’t quite ready for triathlons. But an assistant professor of engineering at the University of California, Riverside has received a three-year, $447,000 grant to develop techniques to navigate those areas where GPS doesn’t work. Continue reading Get GPS to Get Wet and More

ContourROAM Lets You Take it on the Go


Traveling the wilds should be dependent on where you feel comfortable taking your camera. To that end Contour has released the ContourROAM, a helmet mountable camera that will let you roam where you want to, roam around the world.

It features the same rugged cylindrical aluminum body and swiveling lens of the Contour+ and ContourGPS models, but unlike those travel capable cameras this one can be taken in the water, and it is waterproof to one meter for up to 30 minutes. So it is good for getting wet and wild but still isn’t meant for deep sea diving for extended underwater excursions. Continue reading ContourROAM Lets You Take it on the Go

Interbike 2011: Wahoo Packs a Lot in Bike Pack

“And that’s not all,” is sort of the feeling we had when Wahoo announced its new Bike Pack that features the Wahoo Bike Case along with the Wahoo Fitness Speed and Cadence sensor. These items are now offered together as a combo pack that might make iPhone users ditch their cycling computers.

Wahoo Fitness instead allows users to wirelessly connect the iPhone to an ANT+ fitness measuring device and includes the bike case to ensure the mobile smartphone can survive a spill on the road, while mounting the handset on the handle bars!  The case fits iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 in both Verizon and AT&T versions.

Videos after the jump Continue reading Interbike 2011: Wahoo Packs a Lot in Bike Pack

Nikon Gets Rugged

Nikon has been known for making some excellent SLR digital cameras and head turning point-and-shoot cameras. But one area where the company has been lacking has been in the rugged point-and-shoot variety. Well, not anymore. This month will see the release of the AW100, Nikon’s first camera in the go anywhere, do anything category.

The AW100 is reportedly shockproof, waterproof to 33 feet and even freeze-proof, so it will work on the trails, at the beach and in the snow. It features a 15.1MP BSI CMOS sensor and has built-in GPS and internal mapping functions that will work much like a travelogue to view your way. It is available this month for $430 and ready for your next adventure.

 [Via Gizmodo: Nikon’s First Rugged Cam (!), Super Bright Projector Mutant Camera and Pro Point-and-Shoot]

Interbike 2011: The Owl 360 Rear View Camera

There are plenty of cameras out on the market to catch you or your friends in the action, but there is now a camera to try help you from becoming the action courtesy of a car. For years there have been helmet, handle bar and eyewear mounted mirrors that allows cyclists to see the approaching traffic from behind. Another option, soon to be available and debuting at Interbike, is a new rear view camera for cyclists. Continue reading Interbike 2011: The Owl 360 Rear View Camera

Interbike 2011: Footbalance not Footloose

Kick off your Sunday shoes, it’s time to get footloose… but loose shoes or those with poor support and cushioning might make many an athlete feel like sitting it out rather than getting loose and active. However, Footbalance, an innovator in custom footbed technology is introducing its Performance model footbed at this week’s Interbike show in Las Vegas.

The device offers a thin support with a minimalistic feel for activities where speed and performance are crucial. The footbed is an insert that is ideal for tight, low volume or performance footwear such as cycling shoes, racing flats, soccer cleats and running spikes. It is made of D-200 silver ion, high abrasion, moisture wicking and anti-microbial material that also offers 100 percent custom-molded arch support, heel cup and cushioning. Continue reading Interbike 2011: Footbalance not Footloose

An “Open” Solution to Measuring Your Heart Rate?

The idea of measuring a person’s heart rate using an optical pulse sensor is certainly not a new concept. Shine a light source through a fingertip or an ear lobe and the light either bounces back to the light sensor or it is absorbed by the blood. The number of times that the light is bounced back is the sensor is the number of time that your heart is beating or your pulse rate. It is pretty simple, so why are we still using heart rate monitors with straps that wrap around our torsos? Why can’t the average athlete clip on an optical sensor to an ear lobe, have their heart rate taken using an optical sensor and have that information transmitted (maybe via BlueTooth) to a recording devise with a digital display? That may all change with a new open-source optical heart-rate pulse sensor from two Physical Computing professors at the Parsons the New School for Design.

Yury Gitman and Joel Murphy have recently achieved, and far exceeded, their fund raising goal of $3000 using KickStarter.com to mass produce their new optical heart-rate pulse sensor, the Pulse Sensor. The new Pulse Sensor, along with the processing software, plugs right into another open-source item – the Arduino  platform. Their new sensor is currently being marketed to students, artists, athletes, developers or anyone else looking to develop a device to record a heart rate.

Video after the jump Continue reading An “Open” Solution to Measuring Your Heart Rate?

Ultra-rugged drive survives 5,000 lbs. of pressure, dunks in diesel fuel

Portable hard drives are generally tougher than their stationary counterparts, but ioSafe’s new Rugged Portable line of drives is taking things to a whole new level. In addition to withstanding up to 5,000 lbs. of pressure, these new drives (in SSD and HDD varieties) can also be submerged, dropped, and even dunked inside vats of diesel fuel. (Try doing that to your current hard drive.) Inside the seemingly bombproof enclosure lies another layer of protection – Genie Timeline Pro backup software, which lets you easily restore your data even when your OS doesn’t load.

The military spec drive also features USB 3.0 connectivity and is Mac and PC compatible.  The HDD models start at 250GB ($150) whereas the SSD model starts at 120GB ($499).

ioSafe Rugged Portable
[via Gear Junkie: Hard Drive can be Dropped from 20ft., Submerged in Diesel Fuel]

Interbike 2011: Road Rash Guard Buffers the Fall

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtQjyZSiM1g&feature=player_embedded

Whether you’re a pro cyclist or just out for a ride, you can crash. At decent speeds and a stretch of concrete to skid on, a crash can quickly lead to road rash. That’s some nasty business. If you watch pro-cycling, you’ll see that any crash can quickly result in ripped shorts and jerseys with some bloody red skin peeking through the tears.

A new device, the Road Rash Guard, aims to prevent road rash and the resulting ripped clothing, by taking all the scrapes for you. It’s a bubble of durable material that clips onto your clothing in areas you’d typically experience abrasion in the event of a crash. The Road Rash Guard acts like a caster you’d place under furniture to protect the floor. Place a few of these on strategic locations such as your shoulder, hip, thigh and knee, and your slide across the pavement will be buffered by this device.

Here’s some vitals on the Road Rash Guard:

  • Lightweight – 7 grams
  • Adjustable – Snap on/off repositioning on all of your cycling shorts/jerseys
  • Durable – made from the same Lexan material use in bulletproof windows
  • Reusable – multiple impact use
  • Washable  – with your cycling shorts and jersey

Snap on the device by separating the front and back, then sandwiching the two pieces on your clothes  (one inside your jersey, one outside) and securing with a snap. Then go cycling. You need a handful of Road Rash Guards to keep you covered, probably about three on each side of your body. Each one retails for $28.95, however the company offers discounts for bulk orders of 24, 36 and 48 units so if you go in with a group of friends you can get a better price.

It’s no guarantee that you will be scrape-free in a crash, but in many cases it’s the difference between some nasty abrasions and torn jersey and shorts and walking away from a crash with just a bruise. In most cases you’ll get a bruise where the Road Rash Guard sits on your skin, but that’s a more favorable option.

Road Rash Guard official site

Fitness Game System For Those on the Go

The wave of motion control-based video games systems, including the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft’s Kinetic and the PlayStation Move are designed to get users off the couch, but Silicon Valley start-up Striiv is looking to allow gamers to take it on the go. The concept is built around a $99 device that will reportedly measure a user’s activity and movement, and reward them in gameplay with their respective level of activity.

The gadget has the ability to measure every step, and let’s players hit personal goals, compete with friends and even make donations for walkathons and other activities. The folks behind the gizmo see this as part of the so-called “gamify” health and fitness movement, with the goal of making non-game activities more game-like by providing rewards for regular activities. These could include challenges such as taking a number of steps in a certain amount of time, or walk the number of stairs that are in the Eiffel Tower or the length of the Golden Gate Bridge.

New goals and activities will reportedly be uploadable to the device, and Striiv should be in gamer’s pockets later this year. While these challenges and goals around walking could wear thing, especially as gamers tend to be quick to move onto the next thing, it still looks like the company could be striiv’ing to make a step in the right direction.

Video after the jump

Continue reading Fitness Game System For Those on the Go

CES 2012: Digital Health and Sport and Fitness TechZones Returns to Las Vegas

Fitness is not a fad, at least not with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). This week it was announced that the Consumer Electronics Association’s International CES will feature dedicated TechZones on the exhibit floor in the areas of technology innovations in healthcare, fitness and other lifestyle-centric areas.

This will include the return of the Digital Health and Sport and Fitness TechZones, which will be produced by Living in Digital Times when the show runs Jan. 10-13 in Las Vegas. Continue reading CES 2012: Digital Health and Sport and Fitness TechZones Returns to Las Vegas

Twister Goes Digital With Kinect for Xbox 360

That silly family game Twister has long been a way to get people off the couch, and now Majesco Entertainment looks to do it again, this time with a new “twist.” Majesco has announced a team up with Hasbro to bring Twister Mania to Kinetic for the Microsoft Xbox 260 this holiday season.

“It’s hard to think of a more popular, cherished and culturally significant board game than Twister. I myself have fond memories of the laughs and outrageous fun I’ve had when playing with friends and family,” said Jesse Sutton, CEO, Majesco Entertainment.”Our game introduces a brand new play pattern that is perfect for what Kinect was designed to do. Twister Mania for Kinect is as much fun to watch as it is to play and it’s shaping up to be one of the most contagious Kinect party games released.” Continue reading Twister Goes Digital With Kinect for Xbox 360

Sound Protection

The sport of shooting requires that safety is addressed at absolutely all times, and this doesn’t just include gun safety in handling a firearm, but also in ensuring that proper protection is utilized for the eyes and ears. The problem is that many products that are offered to help protect the ears are uncomfortable, hot and just not effective. If sound is too greatly reduced, safety is an issue as shooters can’t hear their surroundings.

However, Starkey Laboratories has created a new in-ear protection that makes use of the same noise reduction technology found in quality headphones. The SoundGear by LaPierre provides electronic hearing protection in a instant fit device. It features digital processing to allow wearers to experience lower noise levels, with less feedback and yet have the ability to tune into the surroundings while protecting their hearing. It provides both sound enhancement and hearing protection in a single device. Continue reading Sound Protection