Quantified-Self & Gamification

Basis Science, makers of the Basis Band, finally launched their first mobile app, and, notably, it’s an Android app. The app currently works on five phones, all from Samsung, but the company promises more to come.

The $199 Basis Band launched last November with Bluetooth connectivity built into all devices, but no mobile app at all. That was something of a surprising move for an activity tracker, but the device had already been in development for nearly two years. Basis’ Healthy Habits behavior change software platform has hitherto been available only as a web portal. The company announced the Android app at CES in January, slating it for the first quarter of 2013.

There have been multiple reports that Apple has a team of people working on making a computer for your wrist – a "smartwatch."

Some are already calling it the iWatch.

Perhaps you remain unconvinced about the merits of such an idea.

If that's the case, there's a chart you really need to see.

It's from Kleiner Perkins partner and former Internet analyst Mary Meeker's latest presentation on the state of the technology industry.

It shows what, exactly, the average smartphone user is looking for when he or she checks their phone ~150 times per day.

It looks like this:

Ernesto Ramirez just announced the 2013 Quantified Self Global Conference in San Francisco on October 10th and 11th at the Presidio Officer's Club.

For those of you who've never been to a QS conference, you should definitely make it a point to attend. A QS conference is a wonderful event where toolmakers, tool users, academics, and scientists come together to share and learn. It's like a meetup, except much bigger and two days long! There will be amazing show&tell talks, product demos, and insightful discussions.

Many of us still run this way, of course, but for how much longer? Now we can lace up a pair of "smart" sneakers and instantly shift from running by feel to running by metrics. Guesses at how far and how fast are replaced by real time stats on pace and meters travelled.

If you think you'll never make the switch, think again. As Nike learned from studying millions of users, the magic number of times a runner needs to see her data before becoming a more "science-based" runner is just five. Once a person crosses that threshold they are "massively more likely" to keep running by metrics than by feel alone.

That's a great number. Here are five more I've come across in

my ongoing study of the field of auto-analytics.

Virtually everyone has experienced the negative effects of a bad night's sleep: grogginess, crankiness, lack of focus and a host of other nasty feelings that hover over your body and mind the entire day.

Health Central compiled the bad effects of bad sleep on this inforgraphic.

What is interesting with such medical background compilation, is that it serves the promotion of Sleep trackers.

So did Jawbone which uses this as an undirect proof of concept for for its Up wristband.

Sequencing your DNA in a minute ?

Soon as simple as making you a coffee !

What else ?

 
There is a bubble in the tech world and Pebble is to blame. With Pebble's unprecedented successful Kickstarter campaign last year ( a record 10 Million raised) !

he idea of having employees walk around with electronic sensors to track their every move is unsettling. There are privacy and legal issues, and who wants to feel like they are just a cog in a system?  

But data companies say that the resulting reams of information will improve life for companies and employees.

Sociometric Solutions has created tracking devices for Bank of America, Steelcase, and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., and is in talks with General Motors.

Coordinated with their Indiegogo campaign, Scanadu made a bright website to ask indiegogo funders which are the health datas they would prioritize as Scout favorite features.

The 6 features are :

- Heart Rate - Oximetry - ElectroCardiogram - Temperature - Blood Pressure - Emotional Stress.

Jawbone is putting the pieces in place to become a wearable health technology leader.

Great claim !

The Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE will be comprised of two distinct Challenges held between 2013 and 2014. Prize purses totaling $2.25 million will be awarded.

Daniel Kraft is member of the Scientific Advisory Board.

Paul Sonnier, from Digital Health Group on LinkedIn, is member of the jury.

Playing Scattergories using GoogleGlasses ? 

It's just like using a computer's dictionary while playing Scrabble or a computer chess program while playing an in-person game. There's no question at all -- it's cheating.

Given pending mobile medical apps guidance from the FDA, Rock Health has developed a guide for digital health entrepreneurs trying to navigate the FDA process.

Defintely a usefull presentation. Congrats to Rock Health !