Outdoors + Tech newsletter – June 25, 2018

Outdoors + Tech news articles, blog posts and research papers for June 25, 2018

 

bracelets


New Advanced Sleep Monitoring in Garmin Connect

Garmin from

Sleep is important. Most adults should try to get 7-9 hours of sleep a night. It can improve your health, your mood and your overall well-being. The new advanced sleep monitoring in Garmin Connect will give you a better idea of how much sleep you’re getting, and how long you spend in light, deep and now REM sleep.

If you’ve have noticed that your readings show less deep sleep than before this update, it’s not because you’re getting less deep sleep. Our enhanced measurements are just providing more accurate readings.

 

New Wearables Forecast from IDC Shows Smartwatches Continuing Their Ascendance While Wristbands Face Flat Growth

IDC from

The worldwide wearables market is forecast to ship 124.9 million units by the end of 2018, up 8.2% from the prior year. Although this growth is slightly lower than the 10.3% growth experienced in 2017, the market is expected to return to double-digit growth from 2019 until 2022 as smartwatches and other form factors grow in popularity, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.

“The shift in consumer preferences towards smartwatches has been in full swing these past few quarters and we expect that to continue in the coming years,” said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “While Apple will undoubtedly lead in this category, what bears watching is how Google and its partners move forward. WearOS (formerly Android Wear) has been somewhat of a laggard recently and despite expected changes to the OS and the release of new silicon, we anticipate Android-based watches to be WearOS’ closest competitor due to the high amount of customization available to vendors and the lack of Google services in China.”

 

Garmin Fenix 5/5S/5X Plus In-Depth Review (with Maps, Music, Payments)

Ray Maker, DC Rainmaker blog from

Today Garmin announced the new Fenix 5 Plus series, which takes the existing Fenix 5/5S/5X and injects full onboard color mapping, onboard music, and contactless payments. Additionally there’s new Galileo GPS support for higher accuracy, new smart notification privacy features, and locking the GPS altitude to the elevation data in the maps themselves, among other features.

Meanwhile, the higher end Fenix 5X Plus also gets new Pulse Oximetry hardware/software solution that’s even likely to be approved as a medical device. Atop all that are a pile of new software features, most heavily focused on the hiking realm, but also applicable to other sports as well.

I’ve been using three final production loaner units for more than two months now across a wide variety of landscapes and sports. I travelled specifically to the peaks of the French Alps to test this watch and the also recent entrant Suunto 9 on fairly demanding trails. Add to that the usual complement of swim/bike/run, and I’ve got a gaggle of test data to work with. As usual though, once I’m done with these loaner units for this review I’ll be sending them back to Garmin, then going out and getting my own elsewhere.

 

non-wrist wearable


Cambridge design firm works with Speedo on new activity tracker

Cambridgeshire Live (UK), Matt Gooding from

A Cambridge design and technology firm is hoping to make a big splash after teaming up with iconic swimwear brand Speedo on a new activity tracker.

Cambridge Design Partnership has created a swim tracking algorithm being used as the basis for a new generation of tracking app, Speedo On, which is being marketed by Speedo and can capture a range of key swim metrics via a water-resistant fitness band so that they can be incorporated into personal fitness goals.

 

Zwift acquires Milestone, charts entry into hardware realm

Ray Maker, DC Rainmaker blog from

In a move that will turn heads within the indoor training industry, Zwift has acquired Milestone and their famed inexpensive ($25) running footpods. This isn’t the first time Zwift has dabbled in hardware, but it is definitely the first time they’ve overtly made a hardware play that will ultimately end in them having a Zwift-branded (and owned end to end) device. And of all things? The unassuming running footpod.

 

RUNVI Smart Insole to Reach Runners in SeptemberEmailFacebookLinkedinTwitterYouTube

SportTechie, Logan Bradley from

A new smart insole called RUNVI is set to reach consumers this September. The wearable is designed to collect data on a runner’s technique directly from the sole of his or her foot, and to turn that information into real-time coaching feedback.

RUNVI launched on Kickstarter last week, and secured full funding in less than 48 hours. Backers can expect a rough delivery date of September. The wearable is made by Berlin-based company NWTN Labs.

“Our advanced pressure sensor technology combined with sports science, helps runners, cyclists and other athletes benefit from accurate measurement and real-time feedback,” said NWTN-Labs CDO and founder, Daniel Waldthausen, in a statement. “This reduces their risk of injury and helps them achieve their performance goals.”

 

Hexoskin Smart Shirt Monitors Heart

Wearable Technologies, Sam Draper from

Hexoskin Smart Shirt developed by Montreal-based health tech company Hexoskin continuously monitors your heart rate, breathing, and movement whether you’re awake or asleep.

Pharmaceutical industry needs to speed up adopting new technology. “Monitoring technology in general is a huge blind spot for pharma right now, even if they say they’re looking at it,” says CEO of Hexoskin Pierre-Alexandre Fournier. “The drugs you are developing today are going to be seen with tools that you are not using in your trials right now.”

 

software


Peloton – Peloton App Expands to Include Outdoor Runs

Runner's World, Molly Ritterbeck from

The fitness tech company adds new audio-guided options to its digital platform, and we were one of the first to try one.

 

This is how AI can help you make sense of the world

World Economic Forum, Sean Gourley from

… My PhD research focused on the mathematical patterns underlying war – patterns that predict the timing, size and geographic distribution of attacks. Similar patterns emerge in other complex systems if we train machines to process, read and understand enormous volumes of information.

We’ve been exploring this with our commercial work at Primer. Banks, intelligence agencies and global retailers are using our software to make sense of the world, because our cognitive abilities can’t keep up with the information produced today.

Machines will reduce the cost of curiosity

The most interesting thing about Artificial Intelligence is not its ability to mimic human intelligence, but its ability to see the world differently than us. Machines are a different kind of intelligence, and as such, they see and understand things that we cannot. The key is for these machines to teach us what they understand and allow machines to share their insights with us.

 

gear


Running: Influencer vs. professional athletes – the marketing strategies in the running scene

ISPO, Anna Angermeier from

Influencers with their blogs and Instagram accounts are becoming increasingly important in the communication of sports brands. But what about the running industry? Do influencers and bloggers have the potential to displace professional athletes and testimonials as brand ambassadors? Is the sponsoring of top athletes obsolete because their reach on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and others is too small? The most important running brands provide an insight into their marketing strategy.

 

Can minimalist shoes protect against injury by increasing foot-muscle thickness?

Lower Extremity Review Magazine, Nicholas A. Campitelli from

Improvement in abductor hallucis muscle size associated with a gradual transition to minimalist running shoes suggests that this type of strength-based approach can help improve foot structure and stability, which may help runners resist development of overuse injury or relieve existing foot pain.

 

University collaboration reveals world’s first-ever graphene sports shoes

University of Manchester (UK) from

The world’s first-ever sports shoes to utilise graphene – the strongest material on the planet – have been unveiled by The University of Manchester and British brand inov-8.

Collaborating with graphene experts at National Graphene Institute, the brand has been able to develop a graphene-enhanced rubber. They have developed rubber outsoles for running and fitness shoes that in testing have outlasted 1,000 miles and are scientifically proven to be 50% harder wearing.

 

materials


Bacterial Builders – Frances Arnold is directing bacteria to build molecules never before assembled in nature

Caltech Magazine from

Chemistry is on the verge of a bacterial revolution. Fastforward into the future, and you might find that the polyester in a Hawaiian shirt, the rubber in a new set of tires, or even Grandma’s blood pressure medication was made in much the same way beer is brewed: by harnessing the powers of the tiny unicellular organisms that are ubiquitous in our world.

Sound far-fetched? The yeast that have been used to make beer for hundreds of thousands of years, as well as some even smaller bacteria, are already being co-opted to create materials like spider silk, biodegradable plastics, vitamins, insulin, and human growth hormone. Scientists perform such transformations by pulling the genetic material out of another organism—a spider, for example—and inserting it, with a few edits and additions, into a microorganism. When the modified organisms return to their normal microbial business, they will also churn out what their new DNA tells them.

While effective, the method works only if a living creature already exists with DNA encoded for the desired product and if the DNA can be appropriately modified to be read by the microbes. But what are scientists to do if they want bacteria to make something that is not already a natural, organic, preexisting compound?

They give evolution a little nudge.

 

Reverse-Engineered Bee Fibers Might Waterproof Your Next Tentenews-headerenews-headerenews-footer

GearJunkie, Julie Kailus from

It’s no secret that the outdoor industry still uses toxic chemicals to make products repel water and muck. But one bee-focused biotech startup thinks insects could change that.

 

Polartec’s Synthetic Insulation Is Now Fully Recycled

Outside Online, Ariella Gintzler from

The textile company launched its Power Fill last year with 80 percent recycled material. Now it’s gone 100 percent.

 

stories


Trail running gets popular among endurance athletes and mountaineers

ISPO, Anna Angermeier from

Trail running, also referred to as mountain running, has been established in the running scene over the last years. Yet, not just there. Other outdoor and endurance athletes are also getting thrilled by this discipline. In part five of our series about running trends, Experts from Adidas, Salomon and other trail running brands explain how particularly communities, events and new products are getting more and more people stoked about running in nature.

 

What to Eat Before Running According to Top Runners- REI Co-op Journal

REI Co-op Journal, Megan Michelson from

You’ve logged the miles. Done the training. Now it’s race day. One big question remains: What should you eat before you run? Chances are, you should eat whatever you usually eat—now is not the time to introduce something new. For some insight, we called up a handful of elite trail runners to see what they eat for breakfast—what fuels them through mile after mile on both training and race days. Then we asked sports nutritionist, writer and runner Matt Fitzgerald, author of “The Endurance Diet: Discover the 5 Core Habits of the World’s Greatest Athletes to Look, Feel, and Perform Better,” for his take.

 

Is it bad to sleep in on the weekends?

ScienceNordic, Nancy Bazilchuk from

A large study suggests that a few extra hours of sleep on the weekend are probably not detrimental to your health.

 

biking


We know how to make roads safer. We just have to do it

Toronto Star, Edward Keenan from

… If you want to make roads safer, you can. How to do it is not a mystery. Slow traffic down through laws, enforcement and — especially, crucially — design improvements. Put infrastructure on the street to protect cyclists and pedestrians. Pay close attention to intersection design. Voila.

 

data


Follow TRAILS to Understand Running Injuries (Sports Med Res)

Sports Medicine Research: In the Lab & In the Field, Danielle M. Torp from

Take Home Message: Among recreational runners, females and those with greater knee stiffness (often runners with a higher body mass) were more likely to develop overuse injuries. Many long-established factors (e.g., arch height, Q-angle) had no relation with new overuse injuries.

 

Do We Need a Cool-Down After Exercise? A Narrative Review of the Psychophysiological Effects and the Effects on Performance, Injuries and the Long-Term Adaptive Response | SpringerLink

Sports Medicine journal from

It is widely believed that an active cool-down is more effective for promoting post-exercise recovery than a passive cool-down involving no activity. However, research on this topic has never been synthesized and it therefore remains largely unknown whether this belief is correct. This review compares the effects of various types of active cool-downs with passive cool-downs on sports performance, injuries, long-term adaptive responses, and psychophysiological markers of post-exercise recovery. An active cool-down is largely ineffective with respect to enhancing same-day and next-day(s) sports performance, but some beneficial effects on next-day(s) performance have been reported. Active cool-downs do not appear to prevent injuries, and preliminary evidence suggests that performing an active cool-down on a regular basis does not attenuate the long-term adaptive response. Active cool-downs accelerate recovery of lactate in blood, but not necessarily in muscle tissue. Performing active cool-downs may partially prevent immune system depression and promote faster recovery of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. However, it is unknown whether this reduces the likelihood of post-exercise illnesses, syncope, and cardiovascular complications. Most evidence indicates that active cool-downs do not significantly reduce muscle soreness, or improve the recovery of indirect markers of muscle damage, neuromuscular contractile properties, musculotendinous stiffness, range of motion, systemic hormonal concentrations, or measures of psychological recovery. It can also interfere with muscle glycogen resynthesis. In summary, based on the empirical evidence currently available, active cool-downs are largely ineffective for improving most psychophysiological markers of post-exercise recovery, but may nevertheless offer some benefits compared with a passive cool-down. [full text]

 

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