14 DAY TRIAL // Back in May, Samsung introduced the Simband and SAMI, a wearable and a platform for devices from the category meant to monitor health throughout the day. On top of that, the Korean tech giant also teased Simband prototype, which was briefly displayed.
Now fast forward to the present, a few months later at Samsung’s Developer Conference in San Francisco, where the Asian behemoth has taken the opportunity to introduce the next-gen Simband wearable.
The new Simband wearable is similar to the Gear S
The device is based on the Gear S, so it comes with a curved display but will not be sold commercially, as its purposes are a little different.
Simband 2 will go on to serve as a developer platform for developers looking to build apps for the device. It is available for pre-order right now.
The new Simband is actually a health tracker that is supposed to keep tabs on the wearer’s heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure.
All this specific information will go on to be stored in Samsung’s Architecture for Multimodal Interactions consumer health SDK (SAMI).
The band has a modular component to it, meaning that any element can be replaced with any piece of health tracking hardware.
Compared to the first Simband, this newer version has been updated to boast a new look and also packs improved sensor capabilities and algorithm accuracy.
The Simband relies on six sensors to do its duty, including one handling electrocardiogram (ECG), bio-impedance (bio-z), photoplethysmogram (PPG – takes advantage of LED lights on the band), galvanic skin response (GSR – measures how much you’re sweating and correlates it to stress), accelerometer and skin temperature.
Simband is programmable in different ways
Developers that want to build apps for Simband can choose and develop their own algorithms and even get a thing or two to say while sensors are concerned.
The health tracker has three main functions. The first one is called Sport and will conduct a quick check of your heart rate and blood pressure. The second one is the more comprehensive Monitor which will display the sensors’ readings in real time. Last but not least is Trends, which aggregates the data collected over time.
The gathered data is then synced over Wi-Fi, because the Simband doesn't seem to come equipped with the SIM slot card that is characteristic of the original Gear S.
In related news, Babolat showed a tennis racket riddled with sensors, which syncs with the SAMI platform.
Samsung has already set up a public beta website called Voice of the Body and you’re welcome to visit it.
