A fitness startup called Responsive Sports has developed a pair of smart combat gloves that will tell you how hard you are punching.
iPunch gloves connect via Bluetooth with iPhones and Android devices to allow you to monitor how hard you are punching. They were developed by Steven Cains, who says he likes “punching things”. In his training in boxing, Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), he wanted a way to monitor his progress and so developed sensor-packed gloves.
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iPunch gloves have two sensors each. One to measure impact and another is a three-axis motion sensor. The first measures when the punch landed, and what type of punch it was. From that data, the app can calculate punch speed, strength and type in real time.
There are also games and training tools that you can use to improve your game. iPunch Trainer gives you directions as you hit (“left jab, right jab, upper cut” and so on), to inspire new boxers with routines. Three Minute Round allows you to compare your performance to previous rounds in order to monitor progression. Test of Strength allows you to compare your punching power to a friend’s.
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You each get three attempts to land your hardest punch in order to decide upon a winner.
You can either keep your phone in your pocket and review your punches at the end or get your trainer to monitor your power. The gloves stay charged for 15 hours of continuous use, or 300 three-minute rounds. You can recharge them via USB.
The gloves are currently designed as MMA gloves rather than full-sized boxing gloves, but the iPunch team is working to offer a larger pair. Sadly the gloves aren’t suitable for the washing machine, which means they are likely to get a little bit stinky, although Responsive Sports promises they are “wipe clean”.
Yummy.
The biggest challenge, according to Cains, has been making the punch type calculation adaptive. He told Wired.co.uk: “People have different punching motions and lengths so we had to make a machine learning algorithm that adapts the formula based on the user.”
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From a business perspective, Cains says that raising investment for hardware products is “still difficult in the UK”. “Investors want revenue which is unlikely given that the investment is used to get a product from design to a product ready to manufacture,” he explained. The company was born out of the Springboard Internet of Things accelerator and attracted some angel investment through the programme, but is now raising funds on Indiegogo.
Looking forward, the company is looking to license the gloves to gym partners through the development of a fitness class that uses the technology. “We are also partnering with boxing/MMA promoters to add this to televised professional fights to give viewers a new insight into the sport, help the ringside doctor know when to intervene and to create new gambling opportunities.”
Wired.co.uk suggested developing a game where you can imagine you are punching an unpopular politician. “I suppose we could use an image that gradually gets beaten up,” he replied. “Careful it’s not John Prescott though or you’ll get a punch coming back at you.”
You can support iPunch on Indiegogo here
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: HOW