Taking off your gloves on a ski lift to deal with a smartphone or some other device in your pocket is a recipe for spending the rest of the day skiing or snowboarding with bare hands. Leaving the gloves on is a big part of the impetus behind Outsider, a wearable Bluetooth remote for action sports enthusiasts. Outsider lets users walkie-talkie with a group, easily control music and calls, and send an SoS in the event of an emergency. A crowdfunding effort just launched on Kickstarter with a goal of identifying market interest and potentially raising $150,000. The device is the brainchild of Gabe… Read More
LAS VEGAS — Major League Soccer clubs, like many other pro sports franchises, are using data analytics and technology more than ever to help players prepare and perform at higher levels. But Landon Donovan thinks there are a few missing opportunities that teams haven’t quite cracked. The U.S. soccer legend and current broadcaster spoke on a panel earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that focused on the use of data and analytics in sports. Former professional player Claudio Reyna; Zebra Technologies GM Eric Petrosinelli; and Gracenote GM Noah Fischbach joined the conversation on stage at Turner’s… Read More
Tech investor Brad Feld remembers his first call with Fitbit CEO James Park. It was in 2010, during a major snowstorm at his home in the Colorado mountains, and he was too distracted by intermittent power outages to give serious attention to an investment pitch from a fitness tracking startup. “Pretty much my entire goal during that call was to get off the phone,” Feld recalls. “I wasn’t in any sort of headset or mindset about investing. I was interested in the idea of human-computer interaction, but I hadn’t really processed this notion of what a Fitbit was, or why I would want… Read More
Vicis has raised more money to help scale development and production of its high-tech football helmet. The Seattle startup confirmed today with GeekWire that it has reeled in another $4 million via convertible note. The company raised $4 million in October as part of the same note. New investors include Dallas-based Peregrine Group. Total funding in Vicis is now nearly $28 million. Founded in 2013, Vicis has created the $1,500 ZERO1 helmet that features a unique outer shell material designed to mitigate the forces thought to cause concussions on the football field and in other contact sports. Other investors include former NFL players and top biotech veterans. Its coalition includes… Read More
Stanford geneticist Michael Snyder’s research into wearable biosensors has turned into a case study demonstrating the promise of predictive medicine – with Snyder as the star subject. Snyder had himself and 59 other people hooked up with an array of up to seven biosensors that are designed to monitor heart rate, skin temperature, oxygen uptake, body activity and other health metrics. The continuous sensor readings were supplemented by periodic lab tests, focusing on factors ranging from blood chemistry to gene expression. It’s similar to the personalized approach to wellness that’s being pioneered by Seattle-based Arivale. “We want to study people at… Read More
