LVL, a wearable hydration monitor, nears $1 million on Kickstarter

The LVL (pronounced level) wristband from  BSX Technologies is hailed as the first wearable device that can detect when you’re dehydrated. It’s currently on Kickstarter and with 9 days remaining of the campaign it has amassed a staggering $991,632 from 6,307 backers. 

Why is it so popular? Because the compact wristband can tell you when you need to drink, removing the guesswork about how much and how regularly you need to consume fluids during exercise. It is well understood that you need to remain hydrated during a bike ride to retain optimum performance, but it can sometimes be tricky for people to know exactly how much fluid you need to consume.

This Texas-based company looks to have found the solution. Using a proprietary sensor that can determine blood’s level of concentration built into a small wristband,  it can monitor hydration levels in the wearer. It can use information from the sensor to provide real-time hydration notifications and even sweat rate measurements, and the company has developed a partner app to help access the data.

“Unlike traditional devices on the market that use green light to measure heart rate from the wrist, we have spent the past four and a half years developing a revolutionary red light technology (actually near infrared light) that for the first time ever can measure dehydration, while also providing industry leading heart rate accuracy at the same time,” explains the company. “Our red light sensor originates from the world of medical devices where accuracy is king. It can measure 10 times deeper into the body than green light can, which allows us to see more and measure it more accurate.”

Aside from measuring your hydration levels, the LVL can perform other tasks normally provided by fitness bands. So it can monitor your heart rate, track your sleep quality, calories burned, the number of steps and even your mood.

“LVL simultaneously tracks your hydration, heart rate, and activity to help you optimise every workout, training set and race. It then prompts you in real-time, alerting to exactly how much fluid you need ( based off of current levels and sweat rates ) and what type of performance boost you can expect,” says the company.

The LVL has a small OLED touch screen to display all the information with side buttons to access the menus. It uses Bluetooth to sync to a compatible smartphone to use the company’s own app, and can also be connected to other bike sensors.

If you like the sound of the LVL, you can still get your hands on one by pledging $129, with shipping anywhere in the world and delivery scheduled for July 2017. The LVL will retail for $199 when it goes into normal production.

Take a closer look here www.kickstarter.com/projects/lactate-threshold/lvl-the-first-wearable-hy...