Lumafit: Interactive fitness coach and heart rate monitor for your ear
This technology comes from an Irish company and aims to be an interactive fitness coach designed to get you fit. Lumafit works via a 3d sensor, the core of the experience mirrors that of your interaction with a real personal trainer. Working with an app on your smartphone, the tracker includes a unit which you wear behind your ear that monitors your vitals as you exercise.
The company originally raised funds through a highly successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014. The device itself is a single earhook-shaped, sweat-resistant sensor, that contains a small clip that you secure on the earlobe. It weighs just 19g, which means you’ll hardly notice you’re wearing it.
While many of us consider the wrist as the natural place to put a wearable sensor, a better location, according to Lumafit, is the head.
“Wrist-worn sensors are great for step counting but give little insight into your workouts where you actually break a sweat,” the company said.
A 10 minute fitness test puts you through your paces and gauges your baseline fitness level. Based on this information the Lumafit coach will recommend workouts and a schedule. Workouts range from casual 7 minute to uber intense 40 minute bodyweight sessions. With increasing fitness the Lumafit will push you harder to get to the next level.
Each exercise has a 3d motion “signature”. The ear sensor captures 3d motion and heart rate data. The device can track over 20 exercises including situps, pressups, lunges and burps. The app gives you interactive real-time feedback while you are exercising. For example, if you are doing sit-ups, the app can help you make corrections if you’re getting the movement and method wrong. Lumafit also tracks your cardio gym sessions. You can get a session report including time and calories for treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine and bike.
A free app for iOS and Android shows you the different activities logged, your real-time progress, and videos to help perfect your form. You can sync it with other tracking apps such as Runkeeper.
There is a 7 minute fitness assessment that gives you a record of your current level of cardio fitness. It also lets you know how you compare to others of your age.
And it has a Photoplethmograph to detect changes in blood volume and show your heart rate in a real time graph during your workout. The headset is capable of tracking EKG level heart rate for a very accurate picture of how well you’re burning those calories.
The Lumafit contains a rechargeable battery which is charged via a micro usb lead. On full charge the device will provide up to 4 hours of battery life which will more than cover a week’s worth of 30 minute workouts. A LED indicator shows how much power is left. The tracker is rainproof and sweatproof but is not designed to be worn while swimming.
 | Lumafit Interactive Coach Wearable |  |
Check out the official video.
