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Form and Polar will bring heart rate data to AR swim goggles


Form recently launched its $200 augmented reality goggles for athletic swimmers to track their lap-swimming data. And today the company is announcing it has teamed up with Polar to measure a swimmer’s heart rate in real time.

The Form Swim Goggles will incorporate the Polar heart rate technology as an attachment starting in November, enabling a new level of training effectiveness and precision never before experienced by swimmers.

The Form Swim Goggles are a pair of goggles with a see-through, augmented-reality display that delivers performance metrics in real time. The Polar OH1 and OH1+ are optical heart rate monitors that combine versatility, comfort, and simplicity. In November 2019, the Form Swim Goggles will support the Polar OH1 and OH1+ through a free software update from Form.

Above: Form can tell you in real time how fast your heart is beating in a swim.

Image Credit: Form

I’ve also tried them out. I synced the goggles with an app on my iPhone and then pressed a button on the goggles to initiate a swim. Yellow pixels showed up on the screen indicating how far I had swam in yards. It also showed an estimate of calories burned. The numbers showed up on the screen in real time, as I moved through the water.

If I were a competitive swimmer (ha ha), I would know if I was on pace to beat my personal record. It works best while swimming in lap pools, as opposed to swimming freely in the ocean.

By using the Form Swim Goggles in conjunction with either the Polar OH1 or OH1+, swimmers will be able to see their heart rate in their line of sight throughout their swim, enabling them to precisely measure their effort in the moment — something that was previously impossible in the sport of swimming.

Above: Form’s swim goggles are pretty light.

Image Credit: Form

Completed swims will sync to the Form Swim App for iPhone and Android, which will match up heart rate data to metrics like split times, stroke rate, stroke count, pace per 100, and calories in a single, easy-to-navigate view. Armed with these tools, swimmers and coaches will gain greater insight into each swim, and they’ll be able to design future swim workouts with greater precision than ever before.

“Form has worked closely with Polar since 2018 to enable this functionality,” said Dan Eisenhardt, founder and CEO of Form, in a statement. “We’ve done extensive testing in the pool with swimmers of all levels, including elite competitive swimmers, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Polar heart rate monitor tech is trusted by athletes around the world; by adding it to the arsenal of metrics that our goggles already deliver, we’ll empower serious swimmers to make their training even smarter and more purposeful. We’ll also further empower coaches and enhance the coach-swimmer dynamic.”

The Polar OH1/OH1+ will attach to the FORM Swim Goggles strap, where it will sit snugly against the swimmer’s temple, monitoring heart rate using its six LED optical sensor and proprietary heart rate algorithm.

Above: You will be able to track your heart rate from your swim on the Form app.

Image Credit: Form

Real-time heart rate data will be transmitted wirelessly from the OH1/OH1+ to the Form Swim Goggles, enabling the swimmer to see their heart rate in their line of sight, while they swim. Once the swim is complete, syncing the goggles with the Form Swim App for iPhone and Android will allow the swimmer and their coach to review detailed workout stats, including heart rate.

“Polar works with companies who, like us, are leaders in their respective fields,” said Tom Fowler, president of Polar USA, in a statement. “Form has built a truly transformative product, and we’re proud to have worked with them over the past year to bring Polar heart rate to the Form Swim Goggles. Polar continues to be the gold standard in heart rate technology, with constant advancements in our hardware and software products continually raising the industry benchmarks for accuracy and reliability. Today’s announcement takes our leadership to an exciting new frontier.”

The Form Swim Goggles are available now from Form. The Polar OH1 and OH1+ are available now from Polar and its authorized distributors and retailers.

Daniel Eisenhardt founded Form in Vancouver, Canada, in 2016. He sold his previous company, Recon Instruments, to Intel in 2015. Finland-based Polar sells its products at 35,000 retailers in more than 80 countries.



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