iOS-connected Hexoskin fitness tracking smart shirt now available

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2014
The $399 Hexoskin biometric smart shirt is now available for purchase in the U.S., giving athletes the ability to measure, track and improve their performance in real time, with data on heart rate, breathing and more.




The Hexoskin starter kit comes with a biometric shirt featuring integrated sensors, a Bluetooth recording device, a dedicated application available for both iOS and Android, and a USB cable to charge the device and sync with Mac OS X or Windows machines. The shirt is available in both men's and women's styles, ranging from extra small to extra large, and additional shirts without the recording device cost $169 apiece.

The wearable fitness device measure's a user's heart rate and heart rate variability, as well as breathing rate, breathing volume, steps, calories burnt, and sleep patterns. The shirt includes three fabric-based stretchable sensors, chest and waist sensors, and a side pocket that securely holds the activity tracker measuring steps, pace, cadence and intervals.




When connected to the < ahref="http://appleinsider.com/l/?link=https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/hexoskin/id593087144?mt=8">free iOS Hexoskin app, the shirt provides access to real-time metrics including heart rate, breathing rate, minute ventilation, pace, steps, speed, distance and more.

Hexoskin says its smart shirt offers 14-plus hours of battery life when training, and 150-plus hours of standalone recording capabilities. The shirt is made of Italian fabric and is machine washable, in addition to lightweight, anti-odor, chlorine-resistant, and providing protection from ultraviolet light.




The Hexoskin is advertised to be safe for any kind of activity, and is designed and assembled in Canada. Data readouts from the shirt can be accessed in their raw format, and an open data API allows researchers or enthusiasts to utilize their own analytics software.

Among those said to use Hexoskin are the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, Sochi 2014 moguls Olympic medalists the Dufour-Lapointe sisters, and NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.




As wearable fitness-tracking devices become more prominent, some device makers are banking on athletic smart shirts as the next big trend. Most notably, Ralph Lauren debuted the iOS-connected Polo Tech t-shirt this summer, developed in partnership with OMsignal.

Like the Hexoskin, the Polo Tech features advanced sensors knitted into the t-shirt's core, allowing it to track information related to heart rate, breathing, movement and more.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    And the HealthKit race begins.
  • Reply 2 of 14

    This is going to be huge in professional sports.

  • Reply 3 of 14

    Pretty cool.  Now if we could just get Glass to hook up with iOS we'd really be in business.  Would be pretty cool to have that data available in a HUD.  $399 is a pretty steep pricepoint when you can get some of the data already by wearing a Fitbit, but I'm sure the cost will come down quickly.

  • Reply 4 of 14

    I think that's actually really cheap. There's a lot more potential with this system than the current overblown pedometers everyone is using.

     

    $169 for a smart shirt in a premium technical fabric is cheaper than I would expect to pay. My team jerseys for bike racing are $100-$120 each with no sensors.

     

    It would be great if power data from the bike could be merged with bio data from the shirt. I wonder if ANT+ Sport is in the works at some point, so data could be stored on a cycling head unit instead of (or in addition to) a phone.

  • Reply 5 of 14

    Oh yeah, definitely more functionality than a Fitbit.  Was just pointing out that you can get some of the data that way.  Great point on the cost of bike shirts.  I was thinking more of technical running shirts, which aren't the same quality as bike shirts.

  • Reply 6 of 14
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    inteliusq wrote: »
    And the HealthKit race begins.


    You took the words right out of my mouth. In a few years people will be talking about ?Pay and ?Watch and ?Health as the bedrock of Apple's trillions of $s and iPhones and iPads and ?Tvs will be just be the everyday bread and butter products.

    BTW I just installed Windows 10 in VMware on a new Mac Pro for laughs and noticed how many OS X features, not least of which is skipping 9 for X, err, I mean 10, it has ... and a guess what ... a Health Kit App. Microshit are so pathetic!
  • Reply 7 of 14
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    $400 shirts and $1500 glasses, welcome to the high tech age.

     

    Kidding.  This actually looks really cool and very useful for people who are serious about athletics.

     

    (Typed as I ate another potato chip)

  • Reply 8 of 14
    There's a yet released set of top and shorts by Israeli company that's runs even more, but it looks totally amazing, I mean future tech applied now, for those who want individual muscle usage live or recorded on iPhone. I preordered and they promise ez return if ur not satisfied. Lots of pretesting with pro, college, serious body builders, yoga-ites and run of mill gym rats. It's liveathos.
  • Reply 9 of 14
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post

     

    $400 shirts and $1500 glasses, welcome to the high tech age.

     

    Kidding.  This actually looks really cool and very useful for people who are serious about athletics.

     

    (Typed as I ate another potato chip)


     

    :) one important note is that it's a $170 shirt, and a $230 piece of hardware

     

    That's how I'm rationalizing it...

  • Reply 10 of 14
    lolliverlolliver Posts: 493member
    As I'm not a professional athlete I don't think I will be able to justify this purchase just yet unfortunately. I am excited for where this is all heading though. Just looking at how quickly fitness watches/app enabled heart rate monitors etc... have progressed over the last couple of years is really impressive. The more ways technology can be used to help improve peoples physical health the better.
  • Reply 11 of 14
    nairbnairb Posts: 253member

    All this stuff is not for me.

     

    Tried a polar heart rate monitor a few years ago. Got expert advise as to how hard to work, etc and followed it. Stopped enjoying running, so gave away the monitor. Now I just run how I feel and to hell with what the scientists say I should be doing that day. Running on my feeling is my addiction.

     

    But I know dozens of people who do not have a budget limit when it comes to the latest training gadgets. Running based on technology is their addiction. 

     

    Don't know if this product will make it big, but one thing is for sure, a lot of companies will.

     

    Theres gold in them thar hills.

     

    (Was thinking of selling a few hundred apple shares but might reconsider. Most of those I know that must have the latest fitness gadget are also iPhone users)

  • Reply 12 of 14
    mr omr o Posts: 1,046member

    Now, this is a better Healthkit alternative than the ? watch.

     

    It is discreet and less of a (fashion) statement as you wear it underneath your clothes.

  • Reply 13 of 14
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lolliver View Post



    As I'm not a professional athlete I don't think I will be able to justify this purchase just yet unfortunately. I am excited for where this is all heading though. Just looking at how quickly fitness watches/app enabled heart rate monitors etc... have progressed over the last couple of years is really impressive. The more ways technology can be used to help improve peoples physical health the better.

     

    Yeah, it's probably more of a hobbyist setup, and for pros who acquire under sponsorship, at least for a while. Most professional bike racers aren't clearing a teacher's salary.

     

    I'm a hobbyist woodworker too, and I once asked a cabinetmaker if he liked the Forrest Woodworker II table saw blade. He said "No, that's a hobby blade, because nobody who does this for a living can afford it."

     

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nairb View Post

     

    Running on my feeling is my addiction.

     

    But I know dozens of people who do not have a budget limit when it comes to the latest training gadgets. Running based on technology is their addiction. 

     


     

    Everyone has different motivations, but there are certainly more than two of them. A long time ago, I sold a racing bike so I could buy a power meter. I took up self-coaching as another hobby, and won 10 races that year, along with enough winnings to buy a second bike to replace the one I'd sold. My motivation was to tear the legs off of the other guys in the pack.

  • Reply 14 of 14
    Is the recording device water-proof? I do a lot of aquatic sports, so being able to get wet is kind of a big deal.... This was my BIG issue with the FitBit Force, which was a great device until it got splashed and stopped working (I was washing my hands.... like you do...).

    Out of my price range at the moment, but this sort of stuff gets used by the pros who buy it and put it through its paces before it's perfected and made cheaper for all us regular people :) Maybe in a couple of years this stuff will be a LOT cheaper and maybe even come in water-proof models for Tri-Athletes and other people (like me) who are frequently in, on, or around water.
Sign In or Register to comment.