The Evolution of Fitness Trackers
Fitness trackers, as we know them today, first surfaced in 1965 with the 10,000 steps meter. They evolved with the incorporation of 3D accelerometers into mobile phones in 2006. Since then, the development of fitness tracking devices and technology has increased at a rapid pace. Resulting in wrist-based trackers, such as Fitbits and Apple Watches, that can track varying aspects of your physical activity in real-time. In recent years, fitness bands have been veering off course, but now Amazon has joined the field intending to bring the technology back to its roots of improving personal fitness.
What is it?
Last week, Amazon introduced Halo, their new service filled with AI-powered features dedicated to helping customers improve their health and wellness. Halo includes both the new Halo app and the Halo Band. Unlike its competition, the band lacks a display screen, meaning you’ll have to check their app to view your health data. Although it doesn’t have a screen, the band consists of an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor, two microphones, an LED indicator light, and a button to turn the microphones on or off. The Halo app has four sections, Activity, Sleep, Body, and Tone.
Body
Users will find in the Halo app a feature called Body. Body uses your smartphone camera to capture a 3D scan of your body and then calculate your body fat. It takes four photos (front, back, and both sides) and uploads them to Amazon’s server where they’re combined into a 3D scan of your body and sent back to your phone. Once you have the 3D scan, Amazon uses machine learning to analyze it and calculate your body fat percentage. They argue that body fat percentage is a more reliable indicator of health than either weight or body mass index. Finally, once you have your scan, the app will give you a little slider to drag your finger on to have it show what you would look like with more or less body fat.
Tone
You may be wondering why it has microphones, and no its not to speak to Alexa. The thing that stands out most about the Halo is Tone. Amazon is expanding the boundaries of fitness tracking into the realm of emotional health. Using the built-in microphones, the band listens to your voice and reports back on what it believes your emotional state was throughout the day. Once you opt-in to the feature, the Halo app will have you read some text back to it so that it can train a model on your voice, allowing the Halo Band to key in on your tone and not those around you. After that, the band will intermittently listen to your voice and judge it on metrics like positivity and energy. The algorithm used picks up on the pitch, intensity, rhythm, and tempo of your voice and then categorizes the samples into “notable moments” that you can go back and review throughout the day. Some of the emotional states include words like hopeful, elated, hesitant, bored, worried, confused, and affectionate.
Is This the Future?
The product itself is still in its developmental phases, with Amazon only releasing it to select early access users to start. But both Body and Tone have raised public concern. One concern with Tone is how diverse the training is for the algorithm. Amazon has admitted that, presently, Halo doesn’t perform as well on non-American accents, but it is an issue they are actively working to fix. People have also been thinking that Body is potentially dangerous for those with anorexia or other self-image issues. Amazon has put in safeguards to prevent consequences stemming directly from their app, such as limiting the amount of body fat you can take off your image and not allowing users under the age of 18 to use this feature. But we won’t know how successful their safeguards are until after the product’s widespread public release. One thing is for sure, Halo, if successful, will change the way we view both external and internal fitness.
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