November 5, 2013, by Peter B. Counter
Biometrics are intuitive to humans because of what they are at their most basic level: the measurement of our body and its various functions. This makes biometrics ideal for access control and security because all humans are unique – an intuitive aspect of life that has been protecting limited areas since the ancient times of “Open Sesame” – but it also has just as obvious applications in the fitness world.
Daniel Levine is the editor for trend website WikiTrend.org and he recently weighed in on the growing business surrounding active and healthy lifestyles. What he found was a growing demand for biometrics.
“Healthy lifestyles are a big business, and innovators are using a variety of trends to improve the workout experience,” says Levine. “Technology and social trends are coming together to create helpful devices that forward a positive social program.”
The devices he mentions come mainly in the form of wearable technology that features biometrics as a method of keeping an eye on a user’s vitals. This can be novel, taking the form of a shirt that tracks mood changes during a yoga session or shoes that can change the music on your workout playlist based on heart rate and pace of movement, or they can be extra specific in a performance enhancement capacity, like socks that track how a foot interacts with the ground when running.
This sort of fitness technology is used by professional athletes, like race car drivers who use wearable watch technology to measure vitals while driving, but the potential in crossing over into consumer space is clear as the technology becomes both more accurate and easier to afford. Personal trainers don’t need to fear for their jobs just yet, but who knows how long it will be until a watch knows exactly what’s best for your body?
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