14 DAY TRIAL // Anxiety – sadly, most of us are all too familiar with the term. We stress about things, be it a job interview or an exam or a fight with a close friend.
But the world of smart devices designed to offer solutions to any modern-world problem, including pets going missing or the inability to play tennis, might provide some assistance in helping you keep your stress levels down.
Meet the Spire – an activity tracker capable of picking up your physical movements, position and breathing patterns.
The device will then use the information to aggregate an overview regarding your daily activity and – listen to this – your state of mind, which is then sent through the mobile app.
Smart gizmos that can pick up human feelings have been touted in science fiction literature and films since like forever and Spire might just be a pioneer in this domain.
Spire is capable of “sensing” your breathing patterns and utilizes this stat in order to discern what your current state of mind is.
The system will also track how often you sit, stand or lay down, so, presumably, if Spire detects that you’re laying in bed all day, it will “know” you have been stricken with depression.
According to the Spire website, the average person is active only about 14% of the day, which is what most fitness wearables track, but the rest of 86% remains uncharted. This is where Spire comes in.
The wearable can be attached to a piece of clothing (like you see in the video), so it will be able to sense your state of mind, without touching your skin per se.
Now you might all be wondering how Spire manages to keep tabs on our breathing? Well, by taking advantage of a bunch of sensors, of course.
The data provided by these particular sensors works in concert with proprietary algorithms that sense body position, activity and breathing patterns.
Furthermore, Spire is based on the sound principles of psychophysiology or how the brain communicates with the rest of the body and vice-versa.
Respiration is one bodily function that is affected by the change in your state of mind, but this pattern works in reverse too. You can consciously alter and influence your nervous system and this is the principle that arts like yoga are based upon.
Anyway, once Spire detects that you’re stress levels are high, it will send a reminder to your smartphone telling you things like “Your breathing suggests you’re tens” and provide you with a simple trick that should help you get out of the state, like “Take a deep breath?”
In theory, Spire seems like a great idea, but inputs such as “take a deep breath” are quite rudimentary and we’re quite skeptical that they would be able to pull somebody out of a really tense situation.
Spire claims that it is constantly working on its algorithm and with good reason. Maybe if the wearable came up with more “meaningful” suggestions, it might stand a chance of actually be taken seriously.
The wearable clip-on sells for $149.99 / €110, but it is also currently compatible with iOS devices. An Android version is being worked on.