Clothes And Shoes Should Also Play Smart Technology.

Fitness has become a more important market for technology companies. Gartner, the US market research firm, predicts that the wearable devices with fitness as the focus will exceed 68 million shipments this year. The industry will no longer be confined to fitness bracelets, but will also extend to the clothing and footwear market.

Smart bracelet, represented by Jawbone and Fitbit, is the most popular fitness tracker nowadays. The smart watches launched by apple and other companies are expected to expand this market in the next few years. But the biggest growth may come from smart clothing. Gartner expects that shipments of these products will exceed 26 million in 2016, up from 100 thousand last year.

Lechal, a India start-up company, is one of many companies that want to target this market. The company's original intention is to provide navigation for visually impaired people, and to tell the wearer to turn left or right through the vibration of shoes and insoles. Now, the company also allows users to set up custom paths to keep the planned route through noise. In this way, if you want to run 1 miles in 4 minutes, then when you slow down, this shoe can remind you to speed up by the sound.

The fitness indicators provided by Lechal are also very basic, including distance, calories and steps, which can be stored and downloaded to the application after finishing the exercise. These shoes start at $200, and the insole sells for $150. They will be listed in the United States later this year.

　　 Glofaster Fitness equipment for future use is also being developed. The company has developed a sports jacket and has a built-in electronic device that collects all kinds of physical data. Users can set targets such as speed and heart rate, and the lamps on the cuffs can provide feedback by flashing. The aim is to enable users to understand the state by simply glancing at the lights, so as to improve the fitness effect through reasonable adjustment.

But this jacket is not cheap, including sensors, priced at 285 pounds (about 418 U.S. dollars). Such a high price suggests that the company believes that amateur sports enthusiasts are willing to give up complex and cumbersome fitness equipment.

SportsPerformanceTracking, an Australian start-up company, also wants to take part in this trend. The company specializes in attracting "sub elite" athletes, hoping to make use of related factors. equipment To measure and compare the performance of sports teams.

Users are wearing a built-in GPS. Sports vest In order to track speed and distance. After completing the competition, the computer will present the situation of each athlete through data analysis. By measuring the body's pressure level, the device also allows users to understand the risk of injury due to excessive exertion.

SportsPerformanceTracking founder Weil Strange (WillStrange) said this is the "Holy Grail" in the field of sports tracking equipment. "People are spending millions or billions of dollars trying this kind of product, but no one has found the right way." He said.

NFL, NBA and European Champions Cup are using similar products, but SportsPerformanceTracking produced a 299 Australian dollar (US $228) device, which is much cheaper.