Microsoft has launched its first wearable device that can track a user’s sleep and exercise and also connect to a health service on smart phones.
NEW YORK :The Microsoft Band will retail for $199 (£125) on the company’s online store. The device can operate for two days on a single charge and has 10 sensors that can track heart rate, calories, stress and even a person’s sun exposure. It marks Microsoft’s latest push into digital health after its medical record initiative Health Vault in 2007.
“This is just the beginning of a multi-year vision for Microsoft in the health & fitness and wearable’s category,” the company said in an emailed statement.”We want to enter this space in a deliberate and measured fashion and as such are launching first in the United States.”
Indeed, Kinect team members have been thinking about other types of sensors ever since its launch. Microsoft could provide studios with access to the Band’s sensors to enhance the experience.
Your heart rate, for example, could affect how steady your aim is while lining up a long distance kill shot. In horror games, your character could become panicked and have trouble executing actions.
One day your real-world fitness routine could actually be used to adjust the strength, speed, or endurance of your in-game characters. Leader boards could show the world just how calm you remained while doing battle with a zombie horde, heavily armed insurgents, or wave after wave of OD’d humans.
