« My FCW op-ed harping again on empowering public in disasters | Home | Feel-good data story for the holidays »
UP bracelet: great Quantified Self device
By WDavidStephenson | December 15, 2011
Jawbone has introduced the UP bracelet, a good-looking product that makes it simple to monitor your daily exercise activity and even your sleep.
It should be a hit with those of us who are into the Quantified Self movement, which involves recording and analyzing your daily fitness routine, diet, sleep patterns and general sense of well-being.
If you leave the Up on your arm all day, you can:
- monitor your workouts
- program it to vibrate when you have been idle for whatever interval you input, to remind you to move around
- track your general activity level — those steps to the coffee machine can add up!
- record how much sleep you get.
Using the accompanying iPhone app, you upload your daily stats, so that you can track your performance over time. There’s even a rudimentary component to analyze your diet.
I’ve attended several meetings of the Boston Quantified Self Meetup, and it is fascinating to see how many new devices and apps are emerging to take advantage of smart phones’ accelerometers, GPS and camera components.
I’m convinced that keeping health costs down as the population ages will require more individual emphasis on prevention and wellness. The UP bracelet and similar devices such as the Fitbit (a little to clunky for my tastes) will play a growing role in that effort.
Bravo!
Topics: Quantified Self, data, data dynamite | |
