Smart apps avert skin cancer + power up punches
This week’s Smart Health roundup features an app that keeps your skin safe, and a smart pair of boxing gloves.
Brightly protects your skin
Too much sun exposure could lead to premature skin aging, wrinkles, sagging, leathering, discoloration, and even skin cancer. The effects of too much sun exposure may not be immediately noticeable, but when they do show up, it may be too late.
Board-certified dermatologist Keira Barr and A.R.O. CEO and Founder Andy Hickl teamed up to create the free Brightly app, able to tell people when they’ve had enough sun exposure, also providing applicable information about proper skin care, UV rays, and more.
“We know all about sunburns, but too many people don’t understand the effects of UV rays. A cancer survivor myself, I understood the need for a technology that both educates and advocates. We built Brightly as a companion to help everyone prevent excessive UV exposure and promote healthy behavior,” said Andy Hickl, CEO and Founder, Brightly. “We’ve combined the contextual intelligence we’ve developed at A.R.O. with the knowledge and experience of Dr. Barr to build an easy-to-use and intuitive app that helps make you smarter and more importantly, keeps you safe.”
Currently in beta, Brightly’s recommendations are different for each user to account for varying skin types and geographical locations. It automatically monitors a person’s daily activities based on the current UV index at their precise location. It knows when you’re indoors or outdoors, and keeps track of your UV levels over time.
IPunch for boxers
How powerful is your punch? For boxers and practitioners of mixed martial arts, knowing the power of a punch can help win more fights and better understand how to improve fighting strategies.
The people at Responsive Sports have come up with a pair of combat gloves that is smart enough to tell you more about your punches. IPunch has embedded sensors at the wrist, wirelessly connecting to a mobile app to analyze performance. A single charge supports glove use for 15 hours continuously, or 300 3-minute rounds. Because of the sensors and electrical components, you can’t wash iPunch gloves, but don’t worry, they’re made of Rex Leather for easy cleaning.
IPunch’s project is still being funded in Indiegogo and the if the funding goal is met, the gloves will ship out by October 2014. IPunch is currently designed like the gloves used by MMA fighters but the company intends to release another version that would cater to boxers.
photo credit: christsna.ch via photopin cc
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