First there were the smart bands, tracking your steps and your heart rate. Then came smart watches and health bands providing deeper insight on vital signs and even oxygen levels.
Now there are new wearable shirts, for men, that take biometric devices to a new level, and some may say, a much more fashionable level.
OMsignal is taking orders on its first collection of smartwear that tracks performance, fitness and health by monitoring heart rate, breathing, movement, and physiological stress. The initial line features men's shirts as the company is still developing women's shirts that require a bit more design given the contours of a woman's body.
The four shirts in the new clothing line of Biometric Smartwear feature health sensors in the fabric that relay data to a black box and then to an app on a smartphone phone or mobile computing device.
"The OM app translates the users' unique bio-signal into personal actionable insights. The OMsignal shirts can tell you what's up with your body so you can improve how you manage your health, gain actionable insight and meet your fitness goals," states a release on the clothing product line.
Right now there are four different men's shirts (undershirt, sleeveless shirt, casual t-shirt and even a long-sleeved shirt) that OMsignal says can be worn as everyday clothing or under clothing or as gym wear.
"Each style tracks your body's most important biometric data and vital signs including heart rate, breathing rate, breathing volume, movement (including steps and cadence), movement intensity, heart rate variability and calories burned," the company's release explains.
The clothing provides sports-specific data such as effort expended and breathing rate, heart rate zone tracking and heart rate recovery, as well "Personal Fuel and RPM" which are described as the level of energy in reserve and "level of focus and physical stress in real time."
The software used in conjunction with the smartwear also provides insight on how to manage and improve metrics when it comes to fitness and health status.
According to OMsignal the data from the shirt's sensors is relayed in real-time to a little block box clipped onto the shirt and then accessible through the app. The box transmits data to the app via a phone using Blootooth
"The data within the OMsignal app is private to you, helps you track your progress and gives you real-time feedback, actionable insights and regular health summary and fitness email reports of your progress," says OMsignal.
The shirts are available in sizes S through XL in six different color options. The OMsignal "Up & Running" kit includes one shirt with the little black data box, and sells at a pre-order price of $199. When it hits retail markets the price will be $240.
A "Regular Routine Kit" offers two shirts and the box for $269 pre-order cost. The "Fitness Fanatic Kit" will offer all four shirt styles plus one little black box for a pre-order cost of $359.
Individual shirts costs between $100 and $140 and the cost for the little black box is $140.
