Technology has entered the age of fitness devices: The market is saturated with watches, clip-ons, and various trackers. There’s even a device that keeps tabs on how fast you eat meals, and it gives a light haptic buzz to let you know when you need to pace yourself. While most of these products are designed to take a fair amount of abuse none of them are really meant to be submerged for extended periods of time.
Swim enthusiasts haven’t been able to reap the benefits of this recent tech fitness trend, until now. Hind Hobeika noticed the gaping hole in the market, and founded Instabeat. Its first creation is a heads-up display (HUD) for swimmers that helps monitor their workout. The device has been designed to fit around most goggles. It monitors your heart rate from the temporal artery, keeps tabs on the number of laps and turns you’ve done in the pool, and estimates the number of calories you’ve burned. The display itself isn’t any Google Glass. It’s a simple 3-tiered light system that lets you know how hard your pushing, so you can get the most out of your training session. Battery life is estimated at about 8 hours, so there’s no chance of it breaking down mid-workout.
Still interested? Then you’ll have to donate between $139 or $199 to the company’s cause. You see, the Instabeat HUD isn’t on the market yet. It’s currently seeking funding on Indiegogo for about $35,000, and its already raised over $24,000 with plenty of time to spare. Investing $139 or more will simply guarantee you one–provided funding is reached within the set time limit on the site.
