“A patent recently filed by Apple seeks to use advanced sensors on a newly designed Apple Watch band to evaluate sports performance when using third-party equipment, such as golf clubs, baseball bats, footballs or barbells,” Jen Booton reports for MarketWatch.
“The company is looking to build a new smart band with a number of sensors that would analyze how a wrist moves and rotates and how that information correlates with the movement of third-party equipment,” Booton reports. “To enable the watch to better analyze sports performance, Apple proposes putting motion sensors on the band itself, such as an accelerometer and gyroscope; flex sensors, which would be able to determine the expansion and contraction of a user’s wrist muscles; and electromyography sensors that would measure a user’s electrical signals, according to the patent, published with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at the end of March.”
Booton reports, “Apple says the motion, caliometric and EMG sensors could also be used to analyze the metrics of, say, a bicep curl to measure weightlifting performance and determine if a user is performing an exercise properly.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple Watch Smartbands™.
• Oh yes, let there be add-on GPS, battery extenders, and more! The thought of wearing our Apple Watch Sports but also having to lug around our iPhones on runs just for the GPS is unpalatable. — MacDailyNews, March 5, 2015
• We can’t wait to see where the future leads for Apple Watch especially in the areas of speed (apps need to respond faster) and independence (less reliance on iPhone, perhaps via Apple “smartbands” that deliver things like GPS tracking for runners, extended battery life, etc.) — MacDailyNews, December 17, 2015
• We would love to see Apple launch Apple Smartbands that add sensor and other functionality to Apple Watch. An Apple GPS Smartband and an Apple Battery Smartband, right now, would sell like wildfire. It’s a missed opportunity for the original Apple Watch’s first Christmas, but we hope to see such items in 2016. — MacDailyNews, December 11, 2015
• If Apple were to release a range of “Apple Smartbands” for the existing Apple Watch, starting with the “Apple Smartband GPS,” they would sell millions more Apple Watch units with this move alone. — MacDailyNews, February 19, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Next-gen Apple Watch to include game-changing health features, interchangeable smart bands – May 15, 2017
Apple patent details Apple Watch smart bands – January 24, 2017
Apple Watch models could get slimmer as Apple patent reveals haptic motor in wristband – December 22, 2016
Analyst: Apple smartbands are a part of the Apple Watch’s future – April 8, 2016
Apple patent application hints at Apple Watch ‘Smartbands’ utilizing hidden 6-pin data connector – February 20, 2016
Apple likely to debut new Apple Watch bands at March event – January 27, 2016
‘Smartbands’ won’t stop Apple from releasing new Apple Watches every year – August 24, 2015
Charging the Apple Watch using its 6-pin accessory port – May 28, 2015
Apple Watch houses mysterious six-contact data connection port – March 5, 2015
Apple Watch’s hidden port a goldmine for developers, accessory makers – May 4, 2015
At 73 I’m not looking at bicep curl data. What can be important would be PulseOx and even glucose monitors. (The continual glucose monitoring is available now but Medicare doesn’t cover it linked to an iPhone or Watch. Toss in various possibilities that Apple can develop with the world of Medical R&D and informed patients will reach for their credit cards.
“…Their device would be able to inform them if they’re over-rotating their wrist during the exercise or gripping weights too tightly…”
This is a great idea, but hopefully it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. There isn’t just one type of curl. There are standing dumbbell curls, incline bench dumbbell curls, preacher curls, high cable curls, etc. Each of these exercises targets different areas of the bicep and require a distinct grip and angle. Also, not all trainers agree on the grip and body position. For example, the following trainer recommends the standing dumbbell curl should be done this way:
Jeff C is the MAN. Love that you linked him here. He’s changed my life!
Potential use for dieting, too, watching for excessive hand-to-mouth activity.
What are you? 😉