Reebok Checklight
Much of the hoo-hah here at CES has been surrounding ‘wearable tech’ and ‘the quantified self’ – gizmos that monitor elements of your physical output and status. Examples would include the Nike Fuelband, Fitbit and Fitbug and watch-type devices such as the Pebl and new offerings from Epson, Garmin, Sony and longer-established fitness brands such as Polar. If we’re honest, most are little more than posh pedometers that, when wedded to an app, allow you to log and compare steps taken, stairs climbed, calories burned etc. It gets a bit creepy when some wide-eyed accolyte explains how you can create a league table among fellow employees to see who’s doing the most exercise. And let’s not kid ourselves that the gym bunnies with something to brag about will want to remain anonymous; it won’t be long before the identity of roadrunner1 or whatever is revealed in the same way that sofasurfer666 will also be unmasked as a devout slob. TF finds this sort of competitiveness ever-so slightly ra-ra-American but, hey, whatever floats your boat; if you need an app and a wristband to know the difference between active and idle or to be ‘persuaded’ to exercise you might want to have a closer look at your life, lifestyle and priorities. Just sayin’
There is one wearable, though, that TF wholly endorses and it’s the Reebok Checklight.
This bit of kit is integrated into a skull cap (a headband version is in the works) and displays the force sustained by head impacts on an LED display that sits at the back of the neck. Its primary application in the US is in American football, where it would be worn under a helmet, but any sport in which head-protection might be required – motorsport, skiing, cycling, rugby, amateur boxing – will benefit. While Reebok disclaim the Checklight’s ability to diagnose a concussion, a red-light impact would give objective rationale for sending that person for professional diagnosis. Checklight also logs total impacts as well their force. Men and boys are notoriously macho when it comes to shrugging off the force of an impact and the Checklight gets around such denial by giving an objective assessment of the degree of impact sustained.
The Checklight is expensive at $149.99 and isn’t available yet in the UK but it will be a life-saver.
More info at www.reebok.com/checklight