A common theme for the metric tonne of wrist-mounted wearables that were announced at CES this year is that they are all general purpose trackers, designed to give a snapshot at your overall health.
Aussie entrepreneur Rob Crowdor is taking a different approach with his tennis-themed wearable, Smash. Instead of focusing purely on stats, the Smash is designed to work as a training companion to help improve your game.
While the internals of the device are notably similar - pull the device apart and you'll find a three-axis accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, Bluetooth Smart chip, a lithium polymer battery and some flash storage - the difference is that the software has been specifically tweaked for tennis coaching.
Game, Set, Apps
The team behind the Smash has developed iOS and Android apps specifically designed for helping tennis players get the most out of their game by wearing the device.
After each match, players will be able to analyse every aspect of their game, from the number and types of shots taken and the racket head speed and momentum, to the amount of spin and wrist rotation in every shot, plus ongoing consistency throughout your game for both impact point and technique.
Players will be able to set goals, based off tips and advice offered by the app, to try and improve their performance over time.
There will also be social leaderboards and achievements, although we'll need to wait until after the project has been funded before we discover what those achievements will be.
Sporting deuce
The developers of the Smash wearable are planning on opening up an API for the device, which should offer a whole new range of functionality.
Initially the API was to allow keen developers the opportunity to get more from the device's recorded data, but according to the FAQ on the Kickstarter page, the team is now looking at using the API to turn the Smash into a suitable training device for other sports.
Should the Smash hit its $200,000 funding target on Kickstarter, it's expected to begin shipping in February 2015.
- If you're interested in wearables, why not read out Jawbone Up24 review?
