We’re hearing about the Airo fitness band, which claims to track activity, sleep, stress, and even what you eat by looking at your bloodstream. The plan is to build an aluminum band with some soft material on the skin side, and to sync through smartphones.
From their FAQ:
We’ve built proprietary technology that uses different wavelengths of light to look into the blood stream and detect metabolites as they are released during and after your meals. This allows AIRO to measure caloric intake
and even the quality of meals consumed.
It’s an interesting theory, but GigaOM has this bit from an interview with CEO Abhilash Jayakumar:
The problem is that Jayakumar and his co-founders don’t yet have too much in the way of evidence to show that their wristband can live up to the pitch. Early internal testing has shown that their nutrition tracking technique works, Jayakumar said, but they have yet to share their findings widely or test their approach with a broader population.
In other words, shining spectrum-limited LEDs at your skin and being able to track things like stress and nutrient levels isn’t a proven technology. And their $85,000 startup fund, from a research grant, feels a little light. Nice website, though.
Pre-order price is $149 but don’t be in a hurry: the company won’t ship until this time next year.