Smart training suit Antelope
Apparently, this copy is not at all from the series sold in the “store on the couch”. The project “smart” suit Antelope for training with the function of additional stimulation of various muscle groups in ten days raised almost $ 400 thousand on Indiegogo. Despite the fact that the price of one set is $ 999. And this is still at the funding stage, in the future it is supposed to be sold for $ 1,600.
The project is represented by a group of German developers, which this year already won top prizes at several European startup exhibitions: ISPO BRANDNEW 2015, PLUS X Award and Camp Beckenbauer.
The suit was tested on more than a hundred athletes, and the results exceeded expectations. Over the 4 weeks of monitoring, the average total endurance of test participants increased by 30%, jumping ability by 20%, muscle volume by 10%. Well, the developers themselves say that 20 minutes of training in a suit is equivalent to almost three hours of fitness.
Design
The design of the costume is based on three components. The first is compression tissue. She stretches well in all directions, tightly fitting the body. What is very important - the fabric is breathable and easy to wash.
The second element is the electrodes integrated into the tissue, located in specific places to stimulate specific muscle groups.
The third element is a compact source of impulses, the so-called Booster, which is mounted on a special holder on the suit:
The developers offer several options for Antelope equipment - you can purchase the entire suit or its individual elements.
Prices, respectively, are differentiated : from $ 225 for leggings and Booster for training calf muscles to $ 999 for a full-fledged suit with an 8-channel booster.
How it works
All technology is built around the well-known method of electrical stimulation of muscles. Exposure to them with weak currents with a frequency of up to 5000 Hz allows you to use a larger percentage of muscle fibers in the contraction processes compared to conventional workouts.
The only question is how to transfer the impulse to the right place, and how to create a tissue in which the electrodes are placed organically and do not interfere with the training process itself. It seems that these problems were solved by a group of inventors.
In certain places where muscle stimulation takes place, a grid of electrodes of a new generation is located that do not need an electrolyte - instead, a special conductive layer is used on the inside of the suit. All electrodes, naturally, are paired, and together with the current flowing between them, form channels of influence.
The source of impulses - Booster - works according to a given training program, affecting simultaneously from 1 to 8 muscle groups. It comes in two versions - 2-channel or 8-channel, depending on the selected configuration.
Booster is synchronized with the application on your smartphone, allowing you to create the right program of impulses for training certain muscles, change the frequency, duration and intensity.
Delivery
Until the end of fundraising on the Indiegogo platform, about thirty days remained, and, as we said, the project has already raised almost $ 400 thousand. So there is no doubt about the successful launch of a commercial party. Shipment to European customers is scheduled for February-March 2016, to the rest of the world - for the summer.
Analogs
Costumes similar to Antelope are structurally, but functionally having a slightly different bias in the market already exist. For example, Athos costumes .
No, they do not stimulate muscles with impulses, but only fix the level of muscle activity with the help of built-in sensors (depending on the model, there can be up to 22). The same technology for measuring bioelectric muscle potentials is used in electromyography. Sensors record both the heart rate, the level of fatigue, the quality of breathing, and a dozen different parameters that a small external module collects, which, like Antelope, is mounted on top of the suit.
You can read and order a similar “smart” suit on the official website . And several models have already passed through our warehouse. For example, here is such a technologically advanced longsleeve with a module:
It costs from $ 398, and delivery of a kit weighing 1 kg will cost $ 14 to the pick- up point .
So Antelope can already be considered as an example of the evolution of “smart” training suits - from observing the work of muscles to their active stimulation and development.
