Epson enters the sport, health and wellbeing sectors with new wearable monitors

Fifty years on from when it revolutionised timing accuracy at the Olympic Games by developing the world’s first printing timer, the company has revealed two new ranges – Runsense, GPS sports monitors, and Pulsense, heart rate and activity monitors – that boast market-leading technology.

A new way of monitoring activity

With Pulsense, Epson has created a new category in the wearable health and wellbeing technology market. While there are a number of products available that measure heart rate and numerous devices that display a user’s activity, Pulsense combines data from a unique Epson developed optical heart rate sensor and accelerometer to accurately measure both, 24 hours a day.

The optical sensor, which measures tiny changes in light reflecting through the skin as blood passes through the vessels, allows the Pulsense devices to measure heart rate  accurately tracking calories burned, sleep quality and exercise across five heart rate zones. Users can also use the sleep phase alarm to wake them up at the optimal time and track how their state of mind affects heart rate.

Designed for individuals looking to lose weight for personal health reasons, those who want to improve their body shape and people who simply like to keep track of what’s going on in their bodies, the highly accurate Pulsense devices not only measure heart rate, but recommends  daily goals  to guide users towards their  weight loss target.

Accurate GPS sports monitors with long battery life

For runners, Epson has developed a new, highly accurate, long battery life GPS sports monitor that allows wearers to analyse, manage, compare and share performance data.

To improve accuracy, Epson has developed an intelligent smart stride sensor for Runsense¹, which precisely measures stride length and pitch while learning individual running techniques. The power and frequency of body and arm oscillation is analysed and calibrated with GPS distance data using a unique algorithm. If GPS becomes weak during exercise, this technology is used to replace the missing data, delivering accurate pace and distance measurements.

Having been one of the first to bring GPS chips to market, Epson has refined the technology, creating a more energy efficient GPS chip that is 37% smaller than the previous generation, meaning that the Runsense products have up to three times better battery life than comparable competitor products² The SF-810 also includes Epson’s optical heart rate sensor, freeing users from heart rate chest straps.

Runners can use Epson’s Runsense View portal and download their workouts to monitor, analyse, compare and even share stats to maximise potential. The free Run Connect app can also be used to upload and review data, plus saving and sending settings making customisation very easy. The app also enables AGPS (Assisted GPS) to download GPS satellite data directly to the device for faster initial GPS connection.  

Wearable technology is not a new area for Epson. While maintaining its well-known printer and projector businesses, the company has continued to invest in unique wearable products for some time – the company was one of the first to develop smart glasses, when it unveiled Moverio in 2011. However, this is its first venture into the sport, health and wellness devices arena.