02 Mar 2015 Wearable start-ups make leap into skipping rope sector BYJak Phillips
The Sophia smart rope Sophia is expected to begin shipping from around May 2015 photo: FitFox
We’ve had smartwatches,smart glasses and even smart shoes. Now the humble skipping rope is the latest age-old object to be reinvigorated as a fitness-focused piece of wearable technology, with not one, but two companies currently crowdfunding to bring skipping ropes into the 21st century.
Kickstarter – the crowdfunding website which has been the birthplace of many a wearable tech product – has carried the campaigns of both products.
The first skipping rope, known as Sophia, concluded funding on Friday, having comfortably outstripped its target of €28,500 (US$32,000, £20,700) with the help of some handy publicity from an array of tech bloggers.
Designed by Ireland-based startup FitFox, Sophia comprises a Bluetooth-connected smart skipping rope with a high quality activity tracker in the handle that can measure jumps, speed and calories.
Data from the device can be synced to an accompanying smartphone app, where – as users have come to expect from fitness trackers – you can monitor your progress and share stats with your friends for an added element of competition and social gaming. Sophia is available on pre-order for US$45 (€40, £29) expected to begin shipping from around May 2015.
Meanwhile, the other skipping rope hoping to get users hopping to the shops is the Smart Rope by Tangram, a company which has previous form with products including remote controls and phone cases. The project launched on Kickstarter last week and was already two-thirds of the way to its US$60,000 (€54,000, £39,000) target at the time of writing.
Like Sophia, Tagram’s Smart Rope features tracking capabilities, but it really comes into its own through the 23 LED lights inside the rope that actually display your jump count in mid-air while you’re in motion. There is also a virtual trainer function on the app which lets users set fitness goals and track progress.
Tangram currently has a prototype of the Smart Rope and will use the funds it raises to take the rope into production. Price and potential shipping date have yet to be confirmed.
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