Google’s not the only company attempting to fight death. Montreal-based Carré Technologies believe they too have found a way to help you live a longer life. But unlike Google, whose cyborg solution is on their 2045 Global Future Roadmap, Carré Technologies aims to bring their solution to market as early as January of next year.
Carré’s secret fountain of youth is knowledge. They believe the more you know about your body the more you can live better, longer and healthier. To do this, they have invented a smart shirt called Hexoskin which claims to be the first wearable to track movement, respiration and heart activity.
The Hexoskin shirt is integrated with 100 percent textile biometric sensors designed to be comfortable but more importantly, machine washable. The sensor-filled shirt plugs into the Hexoskin device which sits in a pocket of the garment. The device records all your body metrics and sends that data over to a Bluetooth connected device, like your smartphone. The data collected can then be interpreted in an app to help you optimize your physical training, monitor stress and even improve your sleep.
Hexoskin is anxious to get this device out to the market quickly. To do this, they have created a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to enlist people’s help to start, what they are calling, a “health revolution”.
And the people have spoken. At 12:00 PM Wednesday the Hexoskin crowdfunding campaign reached its funding goal of $100,000, after two weeks of being live. With 24 days to go, the campaign is sure to generate even more funds and pre-orders of the wearable device.
One of the primary goals of the campaign is to make Hexoskin more afforadable to the masses. CEO Pierre-Alexandre Fournier told BetaKit that just two years ago the Hexoskin costed about $3,000 to make. But with advancements in technology and the team’s ability to refine and iterate the product they were able to offer developer and researcher units for $749. The crowdfunding campaign will help them take this price down even further to $399.
Unlike other fitness trackers in the market today that just count steps, Hexoskin aims to provide accurate scientific-grade data to its users. Their commitment to data integrity is illustrated in the heavy weights they have on board as beta testers including the Canadian Space Agency and upcoming Olympic Game athletes Marc-André Bédard and Claude Godbout.
To make use of this data, Hexoskin is offering both an Open API for hobbyists and third-party apps as well as an SDK for app developers. The team is already working with developers to create apps for other wearable technology such as smartwatches and smart glasses. This will combine the data measuring capability of Hexoskin with the dashboard and communication functions of these wearable devices to make for an extremely compelling experience.
Right now Hexoskin is available as a shirt. But Fournier confirmed that they are currently working on other Hexoskin-compatible garments such as underwear, swimwear and different types of clothing for sports. The team is also working on adding advanced sensors that can be used to measure things like blood pressure.