Over the years, we've seen innumerable fitness monitors; some crash-monitoring devices, like the Helite ski airbag; and an exploding number of smartwatches. The SenseGiz Star rolls aspects of all three of those categories into a small wearable device that you can clip to your shirt or strap to your wrist.
The Star is one of the latest smart devices stuffed full of sensors that track your every movement. Like pretty much every fitness monitor, it keeps track of your number of steps, distance traveled and calories burned. The 24/7 monitor also tracks your sleep patterns to help you differentiate between light sleep and deep sleep.
Where the Star really distinguishes itself is in its integrated crash/fall-alert technology. Like the ICEdot sensor, the Star detects crash-level forces with its sensor set and audibly alerts your emergency contacts via a paired smartphone app. The alarm alert was chosen over a text-message alert to help provide for instant recognition and action. The device also includes a manual emergency contact button that the wearer can use in the instance of a non-crash emergency.
The Star's crash tracking potentially makes it a valuable tool for cyclists, skiers and other athletes that face high risk of injury due to crash or fall. It could also be valuable for everyday use by the elderly and other populations at risk of falling.
Outside of its fitness and emergency functions, the Star can pair with a smartphone and act as a gesture-controlled smartwatch. The controls can be customized by the owner, and SenseGiz uses the examples of tapping the Star twice to take a photo or clapping to automatically place a phone call. The device also offers call, text and app notifications. Of course, the Star can additionally display the time, serving the role of wristwatch when docked in the wristband.
The Star was recently named a finalist for the Everyday Health Awards for Innovation, part of the Digital Health Summit at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. You can see the other finalists and vote on the summit's website.
SenseGiz is still looking for funding to develop and launch the Star. Toward that end, it put its second product, Find tracking tags, up for preorder last month. Like other tracking tags, Find tags track commonly-lost items, such as wallets, keys and phones. The tags use Bluetooth Low Energy technology and an accompanying app to help you sniff out items within 160 feet (49 m) or so. Find tags retail for US$24.95, and shipments are scheduled to begin next month.
Source: SenseGiz
