DHAKA: When pharmacist Thuan Vuu plays basketball, he laces his feet into a pair of Nike Hyperdunk+ shoes fitted with a sensor that sends data to his iPhone. He can see how far he’s run and how high he’s jumped, and by setting himself goals – he aims for at least two kilometres per game – he can not only play to win, but also have a benchmark for a successful workout.
The trim and cheerful 29-year-old from Fairfield, Sydney, also has a Fitbit activity tracker, which measures steps taken, calories burnt and movement during sleep. His phone’s SleepBot app records sleeping activity, a Wahoo cadence meter reports how hard he pedals his pushie, and an Adidas miCoach chest strap and foot pod log his heart rate, step pace and G forces while training.
He logs his spending on YouNeedABudget.com and has bought the Meitrack device for his car to track his driving habits. He weighs himself on Aria Wi-Fi smart scales – and lost six kilograms by noting and varying his diet – and is thinking of buying the Cue at-home lab kit, which tests for five factors including vitamin D levels.
Vuu shows me his Withings Pulse, a device that can be worn like a watch. He places his finger on its sensor, and after a pause it flashes 71bpm for his heart rate, and 99 per cent for his blood oxygen level.
‘‘That’s pretty high,’’ he says of his heart rate, confessing he’s not yet found a use for his blood oxygen level. ‘‘When I wake up it’s 55 to 60. The higher the pulse, the more stressed you are. By putting a number to it you get more understanding of it.’’ He uses the information to see how hard he’s working out, and if he needs to up the intensity. It’s also given him an insight into his general level of health – he sees a lot of sick people as a pharmacist and wants to stay well, reports smh.com.au.
Vuu has a long way to go with his about $1000 of gear before emulating American Chris Dancy, who has up to 700 systems recording data about himself, including a smart mattress cover, or graphic designer Nicholas Felton, who produces an annual report of his life. But they are all part of a movement called lifelogging, where people record aspects of their lives, helped by specialist tech becoming cheaper and more powerful.
BDST: 1024 HRS, AUG 4, 2014
