Whether you’re running a marathon, embarking on a cross-country ski run, or biking the Tour de France, you need to know how much your body can handle. Next time you take up any of those athletic challenges, just slip a sensor over your thigh and you’ll find out exactly how much intensity you can give.
Humon, a company born in 2015 from a research project at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, announced last month its first product, Hex, a wearable that detects how much oxygen your muscles are consuming — in real-time.
The Hex works by emitting LED light into your quadriceps. Detectors in the device then measure how intensely the light spreads throughout the muscle to determine the saturation of hemoglobin, or how much oxygen the muscle is using. The device then sends personalized physical data to a phone, watch, or bike-mounted computer, according to Humon. That information includes colored zones that prescribe the best pace and intensity for your activity; the muscle oxygen measurement; and clinically validated data, according to the announcement.
“The wearable market for athletes to date has been dependent on measuring heart rate, which is a very limited indicator of fatigue and workout intensity. By measuring the amount of oxygen that a muscle group is using, athletes can reach the optimum workout intensity level without exceeding their limits,” Humon CEO Alessandro Babini, Humon said in a statement.
“Our tests showed that this level of insight into the body allowed athletes to improve significantly faster than with heart-rate based devices. Some users already report shaving up to 20% off their target time. We’re excited to bring this level of insight to the market for athletes around the world.”
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The Hex was displayed at CES early in January, where it was also honored with a CES Innovation Award, the announcement revealed. Humon also recently announced that Olympic medal-winning sprinter Ato Boldon and Boston Triathlon president Michael O’Neil will join its advisory board, giving Humon an extra level of athletic and administrative expertise in the endurance sports scene.
“Humon has shown remarkable progress in very little time. As an advisor, I am thrilled to work with such a motivated team who shares my same passion for sports,” Boldon said in a statement.
O’Neil, who owns an athlete management and sports marketing firm, added: “The Humon team has the skills and drive to make a product that will improve athletic performance and I look forward to bringing my experience to the company.”
The Hex has 12 hours of battery life, charges wirelessly or via USB in one hour, and can store 64 hours of workout data in device memory. It can communicate with Bluetooth and ANT+-compatible devices like the Garmin Watch, as well as an iOS and Android app. You can also export workout data into Strava, Garmin Connect, and other fitness trackers.
The device is available for order through Humon’s online store or on Amazon for $295.