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| Amazon launches a bracelet to monitor mental and physical health |
Amazon announced in late August that it was entering the wearable market with its Halo electronic bracelet, which differs from other electronic wristbands on the market and focuses on health monitoring rather than exercise.
The US e-commerce giant today announced a mass release of the bracelet, with a price tag of $ 99.99, a silicone bracelet being $ 16, and a fabric bracelet of $ 20. .
According to the announcement by the American company, the benefit that Halo gets from other bracelets is that there is no screen to display information, so that users can focus on their lives as if they were not. Do not wear the bracelet.
The bracelet, which is believed to compete with other brands' bracelets (the most famous of which is Fitbit), shares the fact that it contains many sensors, such as: B. Accelerometer, temperature sensor, heart rate sensor and two microphones. Since there is no screen, a cloth or silicone strap covers the front of the device.
The bracelet will not receive a notification to the user, and these two microphones cannot be used to ask questions to the Alexa digital assistant because the bracelet is separate from other Amazon services but costs $ 4 per month. It can be obtained for free with an Amazon Prime (Amazon Prime) subscription. Users can deactivate the subscription, but they cannot access the advanced features that they offer.
Halo has the distinction of focusing on mental and physical health. This is the purpose of the microphone as the microphone listens to the user's voice to help determine their emotional state throughout the day. However, the user must train the bracelet to recognize his own voice and ignore the voices of others.
To protect user privacy, Amazon has confirmed that audio recordings sent from the bracelet to the mobile phone will be deleted for analysis after analysis. No log is sent to the company server. However, the user can turn off the microphone.
Another important feature is the 3D Body Scans, which Amazon says is more informative than regular weight and BMI readings that users get from bathroom scales. The bracelet itself cannot be scanned, but the Halo app took four pictures with the phone's camera.
Unlike the recordings, these images are sent to Amazon servers where they are processed using artificial intelligence to convert them into 3D models and calculate body fat percentage. However, the data will not be shared with third parties, and Amazon said the data will be deleted in less than 12 hours.
After scanning, users can use the slider bar to get a 3D view of their body to see if the fat is increasing or decreasing. And since the device is focused on mental health, Amazon recommends scanning every two weeks instead of once a day.