Aiming to break into the smart wearable space, ambiotex is an intelligent sports shirt that utilises special components/sensors through which the athlete is able to capture his or her performance parameters and activities. ambiotex consists of a shirt with ECG sensors, a TechUnit and an app that runs on a smartphone.
The German-based company notes that ‘Using ambiotex, you can train like a professional athlete and generate your personal performance tests regularly, cost-effectively and without blood.’
Measuring vital performance parameters also reportedly works when the sensors are in a dry condition. This means that even when the wearer is not sweating, data can be measured. The data is stored on the TechUnit. Software then applies ‘analytics from the field of sports medicine and training sciences as well as to provide intelligent training recommendations to the user through the ambiotex app.’
ambiotex offers the analysis of four main features:
- Individual anaerobic threshold (IAT)
- Heart rate variability (HRV)
- Fitness level
- Stress level
ambiotex supports its wearer by setting up an individualized and personalized training schedule. In doing so, the company adds that ‘no generic and/or previously defined training instructions will be provided, but instead recommendations are tailored to the user’s body.’ This applies whether the wearer is a beginner, advanced or professional athlete.
The ambiotex smart wearable consists of five components:
- A TechUnit: attached to the shirt by magnetic contacts
- Textile-integrated sensors: robust and washable
- A high-tech fashionable textile: ‘functional, washable and easy to wear’
- The ambiotex app: visualizes, analyzes, stores and communicates performance data in real-time
- A web-based dashboard: offering up interaction with other users
The smart shirt is also available with a strain gauge built into the fabric to measure changes in lung volume and breath rate. Sleep analysis when wearing the shirt is also possible.
Priced at US$299, ambiotex has compared itself to the competition, claiming a full set of features against other product offerings with the extra benefit of machine washability.
ambiotex is a start-up, which was founded in Germany in December 2013. The company’s mission is the development and production of market-leading products in the field of wearable technology that ‘go beyond heartrate measurement and wrist gadgets’. The team is based in Tübingen, Germany and is in cooperation with performance facilities such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, sports medicine specialists, sports professors and sports universities.
