Outdoors + Tech newsletter – July 29, 2019

Outdoors + Tech news articles, blog posts and research papers for July 29, 2019

 

bracelets


This Fitness Smartwatch Humbled Me Into Taking Recovery Days More Seriously

Gizmodo, Victoria song from

Training sucks, especially if you’re a newly reformed couch potato. Your options are shell out for a trainer or gym membership—or cobbling together an ad hoc regimen with the help of apps, subreddits, a fitness tracker, and dubious YouTube personalities very keen on selling you their workout packages. The Polar Ignite is a casual fitness smartwatch dedicated to splitting the difference.

The Ignite comes with all the baseline features you expect from a fitness-oriented smartwatch, like activity tracking, built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and multi-day battery life. The main difference is the Ignite also has on-wrist guidance for what exercises you should be doing day-to-day based on how well you slept, and your body’s current fitness level. While most fitness smartwatches claim to do some version of this, the Ignite presents it in a much more digestible format, with actionable recommendations. At $230, it’s not cheap—but compared to other smartwatches in the same price range, it’s a surprisingly good investment for newbies overwhelmed by the work that goes into building a training regimen.

 

Fitness trackers are good for your health, but that 10,000-step goal is overblown

MSN, The Washington Post, Bruce Horowitz from

… “The fitness tracker is the first step to getting people off the couch,” [Tom Holland] said. At the same time, he is put off by the much-ballyhooed 10,000-step daily goal, which he said is arbitrary.

“We need real numbers to shoot for,” he said. Holland, who recently turned 50, prefers recommending smaller amounts of exercise — not big feats such as 10,000 steps. “I’m a big believer in excessive moderation. Don’t do a lot a little bit — do a little bit a lot.”

 

Coros Vertix review: There’s new competition for the big-dog fitness trackers in town

iMore, Mathias Eichler from

With all the excitement that comes from a new device maker entering an established market, there’s always a bit of hesitation mixed in. Will the innovation disrupt and add something new to the space? Will the company fizzle out, or get acquired and disappear, leaving consumers hanging.

A few months ago a friend of mine told me about this “new company on the block” Coros. Maker of sports technology products, their website is light on background information and corporate history, but the Coros product line offers solid and feature-rich sports watches with advantages price points. I dismissed the company at first. I was happy with my Suunto watch, didn’t think a new product was necessary in that market space.

Then market leader, Suunto, stumbled with months-long syncing issues and Coros pounced on the opportunity.

 

non-wrist wearable


See How Next Generation Wearable Tech Could Change Your Life …

Discovery, Robin Fearon from

… the brave new frontier for wearables appears to be the embeddable or implantable market. That frontier has been opened up to medicine through cardiac pacemakers and contraceptive devices and will continue to expand.
Medics at Stanford have created an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator to wirelessly regulate heartbeat for patients whose hearts beat dangerously fast. Researchers at the Wyss Institute have designed an implantable cancer vaccine sponge that sits under the skin and recruits the body’s natural immunity to find and kill cancer cells. These embeddables are highly targeted smart devices that will revolutionize healthcare.

For biomonitoring and drug delivery, we now have a class of smart pills (or ingestibles) that can tell us whether patients have taken their medication, measure their internal temperature, and diagnose gut health, using bacteria or the genetic technology CRISPR.

Getting images of the intestines or gut is currently an uncomfortable invasive procedure using endoscopes. By installing a camera into a smart pill, we could capture pictures or video without the pain of a colonoscopy. Another way is to use ultrasound, as Stanford’s Arabian Lab suggests, to wirelessly transmit images of the intestines and surrounding organs. Medics can then assess the images for traces of cancer and other diseases.

For more d

 

Maxim launches in-ear heart-rate and wearable temp sensors

FierceElectronics, Matt Hamblen from

Maxim Integrated introduced two sensors for health and fitness that require lower power to monitor temperature and heart rate.

The MAXM86161 in-ear heart-rate monitor takes up 40% less space for continuous heart and Sp02 measurements. It is designed to help product developers cover a wide range of use cases, both in-ear and elsewhere.

The MAXM86161 consumes 35% lower power than competing products to expand battery life and has an integrated analog front end, to eliminate the need for procuring a separate chip to connect to an optical module.

 

Using tattoos to detect biomarker changes

FierceElectronics, Spencer Chin from

Tattoos may have more than an artistic or social expression message. A team of scientists in Germany have developed permanent dermal sensors that can be applied as artistic tattoos. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, a colorimetric analytic formulation was injected into the skin instead of tattoo ink. The pigmented skin areas changed their color when blood pH or other health indicators changed.

 

hardware


Pivot, at-home fitness hardware startup, secures $17 million in Series A round

Built In, Folake Dosu from

At-home fitness hardware Pivot announced that it has raised $17 million in Series A funding. DCM led the round, with participation from Bling Capital, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Signal Fire and Y Combinator.

As part of the investment, DCM Partner Kyle Lui will be joining the startup’s Board of Directors. Pivot plans to hire across engineering and operations teams in advance of its consumer launch this fall. The platform has live and recorded classes from premier group fitness trainers that users can stream directly to their Pivot device at home.

San Francisco-based Pivot uses advanced 3D sensors and machine learning to count every rep and track form in real-time for classes such as strength training, high intensity interval training (“HIIT”), cardio and more.

 

Mixing Mats and Computer Vision Makes Home Exercise Smarter

Cornell Tech, News from

Finding time to stay in shape can be a struggle for busy people. The obvious choices—going to a studio class or following along to YouTube videos at home—have flaws. Classes can be expensive and quality varies. Following a prerecorded yoga session or a high-intensity workout online is a quick and handy option but you won’t get individual feedback on your poses, planks, and squat jumps.

It is a problem that struck a chord with former athletes and Cornell Tech graduates, Chris Kruger, Skyler Erickson, Campbell Weaver, candidates for Master in Computer Science ’19, and Chris Brownell, Johnson Cornell Tech MBA ’19.

The team’s solution, Otari, is a smart exercise mat that uses computer-vision algorithms to recognize how your body is moving in three-dimensional space. It then gives real-time feedback and improvement tips. Designed with city dwellers and space-saving in mind, the mat can be stored in a closet and easily taken out for use.

 

Can you get fit in virtual reality?

TechRadar, Becca Caddy from

Music is pounding. Neon lights are flashing all around me. I duck, dodge, and side-step, my hands lash out in every direction. But this isn’t some new martial arts fitness craze or a high-energy spin class. It’s a VR game called Beat Saber that I’m playing on the Oculus Quest headset. I’m working out in VR – and it’s fun.

Launched in May 2018, Beat Saber has quickly become one of the most popular VR games.

In March 2019, UploadVR reported that Beat Saber had officially sold one million copies, it’s garnered a huge online following and has even been featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – if you’ve ever wondered how good Brie Larson is at wielding a saber, click the link to find out.

What’s more, according to TechCrunch, Beat Saber isn’t just driving lots of downloads and VR headset sales. Its popularity has also played a big part in developing the new Oculus Quest’s tracking system, ensuring new tech can handle the game’s most advanced modes.

 

gear


How to choose the best underwater camera

BBC Science Focus Magazine, Verity Burns from

If you get a chance to go on holiday this Summer, you might be tempted to try some underwater photography. An action camera and a sense of adventure is all you need, says Saeed Rasheed, editorial consultant for Diver magazine.

 

How to Choose the Best Trail-Running Shoes: A No-Bull Guide

GearJunkie, Sean McCoy from

… More than any other equipment in the outdoors, running shoes are an extremely personal choice. A shoe loved by one may be loathed by others. And with so many options, it can be hard to know where to begin. Here are some guidelines and ways to make shoe buying easier.

Having run many ultramarathons like the Leadville 100, The Rut, and the TransRockies Run, GearJunkie editors put down some big miles. And in testing myriad shoes, we’ve learned some consistent truths about how to choose the best for ourselves. We also have our favorites, so hop to the end of the article to see some of our favorite trail-running shoes on the market now.

 

Our Complete Guide to Water Treatment Basics – The Summit RegisterOur Complete Guide to Water Treatment Basics

MSR, The Summit Register blog from

What kind of water treatment do I need?

It’s a simple question, but there is no easy answer. Water treatment is far from a black and white subject; differing threats, varying standards and lack of information can make it a challenge to determine which threats you will encounter. To compound the matter, the various water treatment systems available can be difficult to understand; microfilters, chemicals, UV light treatments and purifiers offer different advantages. We developed this series of articles to help you make an informed decision. Each overview links to a deeper story on the subject. The information presented here is founded in peer-reviewed science and communicated by the experts at the Mountain Safety Research water research lab.

 

materials


MIT and Fashion Institute of Technology join forces to create innovative textiles

MIT News from

Advanced functional fabrics workshop, held jointly with AFFOA and industrial partner New Balance, develops concepts for biodegradable footwear, active textiles.

 

Trivantage® Introduces Hydrofend™ Coated Fabric For Marine Applications

Textile World from

Hydrofend™, a solution-dyed polyester designed to balance high water resistance with breathability, is now available from Trivantage, a one-stop shop for fabrics, hardware, and accessories.

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“Our goal was to create a fabric that lets little water in and water vapor out,” said Dan Fouratt, director of business development for Trivantage. “Hydrofend achieves this balance.”

 

Tiny Fibers for Big Jobs | Jeff Dugan | TEDxGreenville

YouTube, TEDx Talks from

Etched-plate technology is a exploding new approach to making fibers. Fibers so tiny they can’t be seen can now be made into filters that capture invisibly small particles. Or you can write your name in a 10-micron fiber and use it to trace a terrorist’s bomb. Or…there’s lots more, and it’s all enabled by this single innovation that designers and dreamers need to know about. It’s the emperor’s new space-suit. But this time it’s real! As founder of Fiber Innovation Technology, one of the world’s most innovative fiber producer, Jeff created etched-plate fiber technology to explode the range of problems that fibers can solve.

 

stories


Behind Courtney Frerich’s Slightly Different Path In Running

MileSplitUSA, Rod Murrow from

… The American record holder in the steeplechase, who will line up in the event this weekend at the USA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, never became distracted from the sports that were her primary focus throughout her adolescence: Gymnastics and soccer.

Frerichs, a graduate of Nixa High School in Missouri, never competed in a state track meet in high school and collapsed before the finish line of her state meet in cross country. Her high school track experience was limited to the 800m (2:24.94) and the triple jump (34-5.5) — performances that were hardly harbingers of future success.

But recent research into athletic development has opened the door to the possibility that the Missouri native may be less of an enigma and rather a good example for a new paradigm shift for athletes in youth and high school sports, particularly young female distance runners.

 

The Mysterious Path to Professional Running

Washington City Paper, Kelyn Soong from

… The lack of financial resources in the post-collegiate world of running can act as a barrier for promising athletes attempting to enter the professional ranks. And without a national league like in team sports, there’s no set path for talented runners to follow. The individualistic nature of track and field also makes it difficult for athletes to compare their situations against a standard.

Will Crocker ran his fastest time in the 1,500 meters (three minutes, 41.44 seconds) while competing for the District Track Club, which launched in January of 2016 from the efforts of Brumlik, long-time track coach Drew Mearns, and two-time Olympian Matt Centrowitz, the former American University cross-country and track and field coach.

Crocker joined the team in January 2017 after finishing his eligibility at the University of Missouri, where he holds the school record in the 1,500-meter race (3:41.89). Crocker says he was good enough to keep running, but “just not good enough for a team, an elite sponsored group.”

District Track Club, which at the time did not have a sponsor, was one of the few clubs willing to give Crocker an opportunity.

 

data


Sandy Pentland: The benefits of social physics

BBC Ideas from

MIT’s Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland explains ‘social physics’ – the analysis of human interactions to improve communities. [video, 3:25]

 

Anonymising personal data ‘not enough to protect privacy’, shows new study

Imperial College London, News from

With the first large fines for breaching EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations upon us, and the UK government about to review GDPR guidelines, researchers have shown how even anonymised datasets can be traced back to individuals using machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence.

The researchers say their paper, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that allowing data to be used – to train AI algorithms, for example – while preserving people’s privacy, requires much more than simply adding noise, sampling datasets, and other de-identification techniques.

 

What motivates people to join — and stick with — citizen science projects?

University of Washington, UW News from

From searching for extraterrestrial life to tracking rainfall, non-experts are increasingly helping to gather information to answer scientific questions.

One of the most established hands-on, outdoor citizen science projects is the University of Washington-based Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, COASST, which trains beachgoers along the West Coast, from California to Alaska, to monitor their local beach for dead birds.

With about 4,500 participants in its 21-year history and roughly 800 active participants today, COASST’s long-term success is now the subject of scientific study in its own right. What makes people join citizen science projects, and what motivates people to stick with them over years?

 

public lands


Roadless rule rollback would threaten Utah’s at-risk plants and animals

High Country News, Liz Weber from

Rumors of wolverines in Utah have swirled for decades, fed by occasional sightings in the state’s most remote reaches, like the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. But the habitat of this reclusive animal, along with that of at least 100 other species — including dozens of native plants and amphibians — is threatened by the state’s quest to weaken federal protections for some of Utah’s most remote and undeveloped areas, according to a recent study from the Defenders of Wildlife.

 

Mountain Climbing Survival Tips — It’s All in the Details

Medscape, Robert D. Glatter and Bert R. Mandelbaum from

I’m Dr Robert Glatter, editorial member and advisor for Medscape Emergency Medicine. With the recent spate of deaths of climbers on Mount Everest filling the news, it seems like a good time to review the dangers associated with mountain climbing in relation to managing altitude illness.

In order to do this, I want to turn to Medscape’s own sports medicine columnist, Bert Mandelbaum, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician who just happens to be an avid mountain climber. Burt is co-director of medical affairs at the Institute of Sports Sciences at Cedars-Sinai and director of the fellowship and foundation-affiliated practice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. [video, 16:27]

 

energy


Innovative AI system could help make fuel cells more efficient

Cornell University, Cornell Chronicle from

An artificial intelligence system developed by a Cornell-led team has identified a promising material for creating more efficient fuel cells – a potential breakthrough in both materials science and machine learning.

The system, which relies on a collective of algorithmic bots each performing a distinct task, sifts through hundreds to thousands of combinations of elements to create a map of phases – arrangements of atoms in relation to each other – that humans can then use to determine which might work as a new material.

“This problem forced us to develop a whole new approach that really pushes the frontier of AI to derive physically meaningful solutions,” said Carla Gomes, professor of computer science and director of the Institute for Computational Sustainability.

 

a16z Podcast: The Search for the Secret Metal that Powers All Our Devices

a16z podcast from

… The exploration for and mining of certain metals has driven huge epochs of human civilization, from copper and iron to gold and diamonds. In this conversation, Kurt House, CEO and co-founder of KoBold Metals; John Thompson, professor of earth and geosciences at Cornell and longtime advisor to the mining industry; and a16z General Partner on the consumer team, Connie Chan, talk with a16z’s Hanne Tidnam all about why it is that cobalt is suddenly one of the most important metals on the planet.

Because this metal makes today’s best batteries, we have gone from little to enormous demand—with that demand expected to only increase. This conversation covers the way technology is transforming how we find cobalt, and the mining industry as a whole. Along the way we touch on the science behind why exactly it is that cobalt is so damn good in batteries; what we know about what makes cobalt as a metal ‘tick.’

 

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