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View Full Version : Belty: A Smart Belt



Jake
01-09-2015, 04:17 AM
Belty is a "Smart belt" that loosens itself if you eat too much.
If you lose weight, it will contract and tighten.
All of this is done by a motor and gyroscope within the buckle.
It can track all of your steps and connects to your smartphone with its app.

http://i.imgur.com/s9Ny3Nv.png
http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/07/belty-motorized-belt/



Fitness and activity trackers come in many shapes and sizes. Some you wear on your wrist; others you stick in your ears; and some you clip onto your belt. Emotia's prototype activity tracker actually is a belt; or more specifically, a belt buckle called Belty. As you'd expect, it measures steps like every other tracker, and connects to your phone via Bluetooth to feed this data into an app, which acts as a virtual fitness coach. You can also set it to vibrate when you've been sedentary for too long and, more importantly, it can keep tabs on your changing waist measurement, which can be a good indicator of your risk of developing weight-related conditions. What I've described so far is all well and good, but forget that, because this belt buckle is also motorized, and capable of tightening and loosening itself to keep you as comfortable as possible at all times.

After listening to a lengthy disclaimer from an Emotia rep, explaining this is very much an in-development product (and not to judge it too harshly because of that fact), I removed my belt and replaced it with Belty. Having adjusted it appropriately, I was instructed to double-tap the buckle to lock in the tightness setting, and because I didn't have any food to expand my stomach with, I did the next best thing: I sat down. As soon as the pressure on the buckle increased, as it naturally does when you compress into a chair, the motor kicked in and loosened it until the belt reached the same tightness level as it had been when I was standing up. Rising again, the whirring began, and it tightened itself up once more. The movement is slight, but it's easy to feel this "smart belt" at work, and I was suitably impressed, not to mention comfortable (and still wearing pants).

Belty is still at the early prototype stage, and needs significant shrinking before it can become a commercial product, but Emotia's confident it can build an inconspicuous and desirable buckle by the end of 2015.

acow
01-09-2015, 04:24 AM
that seems so unnecessary lol. "gee I really wish I didn't have to spend 3 seconds to adjust my belt after gorging down on 5 plates of food at china buffet" :p

Frement
01-09-2015, 04:34 AM
Get hacked, and get strangled by your belt. Welcome to the future!

J_R
01-09-2015, 04:48 AM
Came into this thread expecting belty to do exactly the opposite of what it does :c

That's what I'd find more useful tbh if I was fat (at least the shrinking when you eat too much :P)

Otherwise, I'd say this invention isn't worth it.

Rlp
01-09-2015, 04:49 AM
Get hacked, and get strangled by your belt. Welcome to the future!

I have to give you credit for a great post! Rep also coming your way! 4:48am and you made me laugh :D

Jake
01-09-2015, 05:19 AM
LMAO
picturing this is too hilarious

Get hacked, and get strangled by your belt. Welcome to the future!

xqs_me
01-09-2015, 05:21 AM
It can also track how many times you take a dump a day, seeing as you have to undo it...They should call it "Brown" mode...

jrtsoget
01-09-2015, 04:18 PM
Thats pretty cool, wearable technology is the future.

mylastregret
02-10-2015, 04:42 AM
well I would have to agree it is unnecessary, because if you really think about it who is going to lose alot of weight in one day. I guess you could wear it to bed lol.