Launched recently on Kickstarter, the Sens wearable from Planexta wants to help you with your emotions. It uses the highest level of heart rate monitoring, coupled with some serious algorithms to track your emotions. Pairing this data with your activity, over time, Sens can help you stay ahead of situations where you may get emotional.
(Source: empowher.com)
In mindfulness meditation, the goal is to stay present. Thoughts and emotions arise. Your job isn’t to make them go away, but to find ways to live with them.
Sens may be just the technology meditators never knew they needed to improve their practice.
The Sens wearable promises to do a lot, which it may actually deliver once you understand the technology under the hood. Combined with some fancy algorithms and the companion app you can not only track your own emotions but those of people in your circle.
Not only that, it’s not a bad looking wearable.
The Promise
(Source: kickstarter.com)
Sens tracks your heartbeat so accurately, it can tell your feelings. It combines this data with your activities so you can connect activities with emotions.
As you get closer to your emotional data, you can decide how you should best prepare for situations that may draw unwanted emotions from your well.
Let’s imagine you discover public speaking events dredge up insane levels of anxiety mixed with aggression. You may conclude that a brief meditation is wise before you take the podium.
Electrocardiography
(Source: kickstarter.com)
Electrocardiography (ECG) is the heart rate measuring technology hospitals use when they aren’t listening with stethoscopes.
Most of our fitness trackers use optical sensors, which track pulse waves to determine your heart rate. The best of them are not even 90% accurate. Most are closer to 70%, but ECG is 250x more precise.
What’s more, ECG is able to filter out noise that optical sensors simply cannot separate. As demonstrated on their Kickstarter page, the Sens device paces the accuracy of hospital technology.
You don’t have to anything to activate it. With one charge, Sens will track your heart rate and activities for up to 48 hours.
Your Emotions
(Source: kickstarter.com)
Weighing the details from your heart beat, Sens is able to measure your emotional state with precision accuracy.
Planexta claims that Sens can measure 64 different emotions. That’s not bad compared to the 32 emotions found in Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions.
Plutchik’s Wheel is a standard tool used in medicine and psychology to measure emotions.
You don’t have to get bogged down trying to track down each of those emotions, insomuch that you understand Sens can track them for you.
Other’s Emotions
(Source: kickstarter.com)
As with many of the wearable technologies we cover, this part is equal parts creepy and cool.
Building on the emotional reading technology, Sens offers a social aspect to the mix. You can know when someone in your circle needs a hug or a nudge.
Sens can share with you when someone may need support, suggesting just what kind of support may be appropriate. That person may not even know they need it themselves.
They key is understand just what the emotion is, plus how to be of assistance. Not everybody wants or needs support in the same way. Sens learns those needs over time.
Style Elements
(Source: kickstarter.com)
The Sens team, Planexta (there are 33 of them), took over a year to find the right blend of technology and style.
When they started, they already had the technology, but it needed someplace for it to live. They tested many different looks, but what they landed on is unique.
Sens is a squarish device, too large to fit on a crowded wrist. It won’t tell the time, as there’s no display. This could prove challenging for those who like to tell the time with a wristwatch.
The textured silicone strap is available in different colors and wraps in what they call an overlap design.The adjustable clasp at the bottom is subtle. It’s an elegant combination, in any case.
(Source: kickstarter.com)
This is one technology we are very curious to watch. We will let you know what we think when we get our hands on one.
Despite a few translation oddities on their Kickstarter, the pitch for the Sens had us convinced. We’d like to see this one make it to production.
To find out more, you can visit the Planexta site or support Sens on Kickstarter. Meanwhile, check out this sweet video: