The all-new Altra Halo shoe is a smart shoe for runners with an integrated sensor that measures aspects of your gait and sends it to your smartphone or iFit GPS Watch. Unlike other performance metrics that you analyze after your run, the Halo's data set helps you to make adjustments during your workout.
The razor-thin sensor embedded in the midsole of the Halo shoes is designed to further Altra's goal of encouraging proper foot positioning and low-impact running. It doesn't measure the usuals, like speed and distance, but instead tracks aspects of your running gait: cadence, foot strike zone and ground force impact. It beams the information to a connected smartphone or iFit Peak or Ridge fitness watch, letting you get feedback in real time.
"The opportunity with the Altra Halo shoe is real-time feedback as you run, so you can quickly adjust and improve your running form before bad habits take hold," explains Brian Beckstead, Altra's VP of sales.
Altra suggests that, without a gait analysis platform like the one offered in the Halo shoes, runners would get gait feedback perhaps once a year when getting fitted for new running shoes at a running specialty shop. If you buy your shoes online or at a general sports retail shop, you may never get any type of gait analysis to assist with your running form.
The Halo shoes will hit the market later this year for a retail price of US$180. Both the iFit Ridge and Peak GPS watches will also launch later this year. Each watch includes GPS fitness tracking capabilities, sleep monitoring and smartphone notifications. A more robust smartwatch, the Peak also includes heart rate sensors, an altimeter, a camera, a microphone, onboard music storage, NFC and wireless charging.
Source: iFit
