A roundup of Austin-based companies that are proving why our city is on the cutting edge of technological trends.
By Megan Russell
TOWNIE TECH TOOLS
Atlas Wearables
What it is: More than just a glorified heart-rate monitor, Atlas Wearables has created the “ultimate fitness tracker.” With a single on-wrist device, Atlas can “track your body on the x-, y- and z-axes,” which means it can tell what exercise your body is doing when it’s doing it. The tracker is so precise, it knows the difference between push-ups and triangle push-ups, bicep curls and alternating bicep curls, and squats versus deadlifts. Atlas logs your workout with almost zero user action and keeps track of your heart rate so you can see how each movement affects your body.
How it works: The analytic engine built in to Atlas learns your movements, so no matter what movements your workout consists of, Atlas can track them and turn your workout in to data that can help you achieve your goals. Atlas is packed with a suite of inertial sensors similar to those used in smartphones. The Atlas sensors see your movement in a 3-D trajectory and identify the specific motion fingerprint of each exercise you’re doing. Atlas then sifts through a sea of data and picks out the pearls that are valuable to you. Not only do you have a complete digital log of your specific exercises, Atlas enables you to see how your body is affected. You can see how rest affects each exercise, how quickly your heart recovers, the quality of your form and more. Plus, you can measure your explosiveness, find your max thrust and improve your workouts. The Atlas platform builds on a community of data that will enable everyone to learn the different benefits of each exercise routine.
Apps it works with: Most fitness apps, including MapMyFitness and Fitocracy. Atlas is available for preorder at atlaswearables.com.
Adonit
What it is: Austin-based company Adonit designed the Jot Script Evernote Edition Stylus, the most recent of many different types of styluses available on their website. This stylus, which feels more like your favorite pen with its metal finish and ribbed grip, has the smallest tip on the market, measuring 1.9 millimeters.
How it works: The stylus works in conjunction with Penultimate, Evernote’s handwriting app. The zoom feature enables dynamic interaction between app and stylus. As the Jot Script’s fine tip approaches the screen, the app responds by enlarging the writing space for better visual feedback. And as you write, the digital paper drifts along, mimicking the natural feeling of handwriting.
Apps it works with: Penultimate by Evernote. The Jot Script is $74.99, available at adonit.net.
Austin Apps
Academy Sports and Outdoors Live Fit
Live Fit is the new app created by a popular fitness app in conjunction with Austin’s go-to sports and outdoors store. MapMyFitness joined Academy Sports and Outdoors and Austin’s Rocksauce Studios to create this fitnesstracker app. It allows you to track your workout, running, walking, cycling and other fitness activities while staying up to date with current fitness trends. You can even compete with friends, family or yourself to stay motivated on your fitness journey. Live Fit is a free app available for both Android and iPhone.
oYeah!
Sometimes we need a nudge reminding us to take action on something right after we show up for work or before we’re ready to wind down after a long day. oYeah! is a task manager in which your to-do lists are tied to your arrival and departure times at specific locations. You can chain up to 10 reminders together in this customizable app that is sure to keep you productive and on top of your life. oYeah! is 99 cents and available at the Apple app store.
Ferris
Developed with help from your favorite radio host turned businessman, JB Hager, Ferris is a video app like none other. Sure, creating your own video and exploring others’ content isn’t new, but Ferris has come up with a unique, dynamic, fun way of capturing life’s moments and sharing them. By stitching together an ever-changing fabric of videos from throughout the world, this app allows you to peek under the covers to see real, raw footage and unique perspectives from places, events, topics and moments in time. By adding hashtags, your clips will link with videos with the same hashtag to create a fluid video with everyone’s clips sewn together, making this the perfect app for weddings and parties. Just hashtag the event and all the video will seamlessly combine to create beautiful, memorable content. Ferris is free and available at the Apple app store.
