Devices to Track Every Move You Make

By Javier Espinoza 

GEORGE ORWELL WOULD HAVE enjoyed the irony. In an unexpected twist on his dystopian society, technology has become more intrusive than ever, with companies devising products to track everything from the steps we take to how focused our brains are. But far from it being enforced, we've not only accepted this monitoring as part of the age we live in--we're happy to pay to be measured and managed by it.

Tracking technology isn't new; the concept of wearable computers has been around since the 1980s. But the way we understand it has radically transformed with inventions like Google Glass and a new generation of wristbands and smartwatches, which have developed into a multibillion-dollar industry.

Companies like Jawbone have taken a leap forward in recent years, incorporating sensors to capture details of some of our most fundamental functions: how we eat, sleep and move. More recently, tech giants have joined the party.

In September, Apple launched a smartwatch to measure fitness and health, as well as HealthKit, an online repository of health-related data that works in conjunction with apps on your phone. The data it collects can then be channeled, with the user's consent, to doctors. Google has launched an equivalent health platform, and Facebook is reportedly looking into developing health apps.

San Francisco-based entrepreneur Justin Lee spent seven years developing Vessyl, a cup that tracks what you drink. It can recognize what type of liquid goes into it and helps users track their hydration levels and calorie intake. Mr. Lee envisages Vessyl, which comes out next year ( $99, or EUR79, presale; myvessyl.com ), as one of a series of products that will track what we eat and drink. "I'd love to say that I know everything I am consuming," he says. "If I did, I would be healthier."

While there's been hype about the benefits of tracking technology--namely, making us more aware of our choices--there are issues. Several sleep-tracking products have reportedly overestimated the amount of sleep a person has, and entrepreneurs are still trying to crack the code when it comes to efficiently tracking it. This and other problems means some remain skeptical. In his chilling 2012 novel "Intrusion," Scottish science fiction writer Ken MacLeod imagined a device, "the monitor ring," that was placed on women of childbearing age to track and forecast their health. If a woman drank more than the recommended level of alcohol, the device would alert social services. In Mr. MacSHYLeod's view, these new devices could actually make us more anxious about our health. "I can see that having more self-monitoring devices could increase people's anxieties and create yet further markets for [products]," he says.

Still, those in the industry see a multitude of benefits for the increasingly gadget-driven population. And the demand is there. A report last month by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that 21% of adults in the U.S. already own a wearable device and 72% of consumers said they would wear a smartwatch if their firm paid for it.

With a plethora of body-monitoring bands now available, developers are moving toward an evermore sophisticated level of tracking. Finland's Myontec has developed a pair of shorts with integrated sensors that will measure muscle activity to track cadence, heart rate, balance ratio and muscle load ( EUR620; myontec.com ). Melon, a headband and app, is aimed at improving your focus. The gadget measures concentration levels, collecting data such as the microvolt signals that are coming from your brain and providing feedback ( $149; thinkmelon.com ). "Everybody wants to be the idealized version of themselves," says co-creator Ayre Barnehama. "The more someone tracks on their own, the more insights about themselves they are likely to find in the long run."

But how much information is too much? Sagi Shorrer, one of the co-creators of Peak, a new brain training app designed to improve mental agility ( free; itunes.com ), says that as products and consumer demands evolve, the information gathered will become less overwhelming and more relevant, individualized and meaningful. "The next phase will be about making more sense of the data" and using it to make changes to our overall health, says Mr. Shorrer. "At some point, looking at the data will become redundant and you will go straight into action."

Write to Javier Espinoza at [e-mail]

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