Weightbit: An Advancement in Wearable Technology

Wearable devices are becoming an important interface between users and fitness activities. Their capabilities are improving exponentially, and new strategies are being developed to track sports using sensors that are widely used in robotics. These wearable gadgets are normally created in conjunction with smartphone applications enabling the user to visualise the data and share it through social networks, or compete with other users. The technology behind these devices is often simple using sensors that can be found in a smartphone, such as GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope. However, there are currently no devices capable of measuring the gym activity of weight lifting. In this paper, we present WeightBit: a system consisting of technologically enhanced gym gloves, comprised of the aforementioned sensors as well as an additional weight sensor to detect weight and arm movements. Using this data in combination with a smartphone application, it will be possible to monitor a new series of sports activities with specific focus on weight training. Furthermore, the data collected by the application will enable broader research by medical researchers or institutions. The goal is to keep users focused and keen to live a healthy life, providing them a great tool to track their progress, and to develop a system that will allow medical institutions access to this data for further study.