LifeBeam Brings Fighter Pilot Heart-Monitoring Technology To Your Bicycle Helmet
LifeBeam is kicking off an Indiegogo campaign for a new smart cycling helmet that uses smart sensors to track your heart rate.
LifeBeam is an Israel-based startup that thus far has specialized in aerospace technology that is used to track the vital signs of fighter jet pilots and astronauts. Instead of bulky chest strap monitors, Lifebeam uses their own specialized sensors that are built into the helmet to track their heart rate and vitals.
The people behind LifeBeam then asked themselves, “What if we put that technology into a smart cycling helmet?” Thus this helmet was born.
The aptly named SMART is just that. The helmet uses Bluetooth to relay all the information the LifeBeam sensors collect instantly onto monitoring devices, fitness watches, and smartphones.
LifeBeam has little experience designing and producing bicycle helmets, of course, so it’s turned to the popular cycling gear outfit Laser Sport to handle things on that end of the business. The finished product, if LifeBeam can raise enough money, should be a pretty handsome looking cycling helmet with some very high-end sensing technology.
“We are proud to present the world’s first smart cycling helmet,” LifeBeam says in their IndieGogo video. “Our unique sensing technology, partnered with Lazer Sport helmets, create high end cycling helmets that allow continuous measurement of heart rate and motion.”
LifeBeam is seeking to raise at least $50,000, and a starting contribution of $149 will get you your very own SMART helmet. If you’re an avid cycler and this seems like something you need, you can check out their IndieGogo page here.
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Google pushes Map Maker out to 8 more European countries including Austria, Belgium and Switzerland
Back in December we reported that Google was overhauling Map Maker to, well, make mapping easier. And a couple of weeks back, in conjunction with some pretty awesome announcements regarding 3D maps and offline mode for mobile, the Internet giant announced that it would be rolling Map Maker out to ten more countries in the coming weeks.
Well, it has announced today that 8 of those countries now have access to Google’s personalized map-creating platform.
Google Map Maker lets users “improve the map of places that matter to you”, letting them update the actual map as seen by millions of users on Google Map. And now Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland have been added to its roster of countries. Though still no sign of Australia and New Zealand, which were among the ‘coming soon’ countries announced by Google a couple of weeks back.
“With every region that joins Google Map Maker, we are coming one step closer to building a comprehensive world map,” writes Nilesh Tathawadekar, a Google Software Engineer. “Whether you’re adding the cycling routes through Amsterdam or adding the best hiking trails and fishing holes of the Geirangerfjord, each update you make helps to capture the unique spirit of your country for everyone to see.”
Following its launch in South Africa and Egypt earlier this month, and now 8 more countries today, Google Map Maker is live in more than 190 countries and territories.
Feature Image Credit: laihiu | Flickr
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Pebble Smart Watch Raises Over $3M On Kickstarter After Asking For Only $100K
A ‘smart watch’ that connects to an iPhone or Android to display information that appears on your phone seems somewhat of a no-brainer, but until now few convincing efforts have appeared. Now, a team has developed the “Pebble” project to do just that, and they have clearly untapped a latent need for such a watch amongst smartphone users. After asking for $100,000 on Kickstarter to create a few thousand devices, they’ve raised well over $3 million over a month before their stated goal. Indeed, Pebble raised $1 million in its first 28 hours.
The Pebble is a slim, water resistant, scratch resistant, watch with an e-paper display. This display means it has a 7 day battery life (charged via USB) and is also easily visible in daylight just like a Kindle display. LCD displays would eat up way more power, so the e-paper aspect to this is very much part of this very clever take on a smart watch.
Connecting via Bluetooth to the phone, the Pebble interfaces with the phone via a iOS or Android app. Alerts can be customised for emails, notifications or messages and the Pebble people claim the watch will run apps to cover cycling, golfing or running, and use its accelerometer to monitor your activity, just like the Nike Fitband.
Alerta, the company behind the Pebble, also makes the inPulse smart watch which is a full color LCD screen watch, so it has experience in this arena.
You can back the project in a variety of ways, but you can get an actual watch (basic black) starting with a $115 pledge.
Could the white Pebble become the must-have device? We’ll see, but it’s on its way.
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