The history of activity trackers in Waterford, Ireland can be traced back to the early nineteen-thirties when the first portable electronic trackers were being used by the general public. The first designs were made for the general public but as word spread more people wanted to take advantage of this system, they set up the business and began producing trackers which were more suitable for the working market. These devices were also increasingly built into vehicles as car owners realized that they could monitor their vehicle speeds without the need to get down on their hands and knees constantly to do so.
When the designs were produced further advancements came about which took tracker technology to new levels. Foot-wear sensors were added to the devices which allowed the user to measure their performance whilst walking. A further advancement was the development of a device that linked together with a runner’s foot pod, enabling them to keep track of how many steps they had taken whilst running. All of these tracks had one common factor; they all measured the distance and time that they had been run and could be connected to a computer system to show the location of the runner at any given moment during the run.
As the war began the demand for more advanced equipment increased. Advancements in technology meant that trackers were no longer restricted to being used by amateurs. Serious athletes used them and so did the security forces. Military trainers introduced the use of a variety of trackers that were used to assess the fitness and strength of their soldiers. These were often very basic models which included only a few parts and could be fitted quickly and easily.
As the war ended and soldiers returned home, more sophisticated models of activity trackers from Pedometer to Fitbit were introduced. More affordable than ever before, these trackers were suitable for use by almost anyone. They were easy to operate and provided accurate measurements of the number of miles that people have walked, run, or participated in a sport. They provided data that could be used by coaches, parents, and training professionals.
Pedometer trackers from pedometers to tidbits first became popular amongst gym-goers who used them to track how many calories they burned during their workout. The idea was that the more pedaled during a workout, the more calories would be burned. As the technology evolved, this turned out to be true, however, there was a limitation. The more the user pedaled during an exercise, the more power was required to move the foot as well as the arms. This created problems when it came to obtaining results from the pedaling. This meant that these trackers from pedometers to tidbits moved away from being purely aerobic and became more closely associated with anaerobic exercise.
With the evolution of technology came new capabilities to better facilitate the measurement of movement and the resulting data was measured and stored in computers, which provided a means to provide an estimation of caloric intake and expenditure. Fitbit Cork and pedometer trackers from pedometers to tidbits started to incorporate heart rate monitors which offered more precise readings of heart rate during physical activities. The trend continued with the development of the pedometer to track which allowed users to measure the amount of time they had spent exercising using the built-in mechanism which provided feedback via a sensor to the watch. The result was that the more sophisticated the technology used in these trackers from pedometers to Fitbits, the more precise the information provided.
A major development in this area came with the use of computers to gather information. Software programs were designed to read the sensors and to provide the needed information. Some of the programs provided information that was mathematical in nature while others provided detailed information about the movements of the users. This information was then used to determine the calories burned during the exercise session. Other programs provided metrics of the heart rate monitors as well as the amount of intensity of the exercise session.
Pedometer trackers from Fitbits and Fitbit Force were combined to provide the information required to determine the calories burned during an exercise session during waking hours as well as during the evening and night hours when people were sleeping. By combining this information with the information provided by computers, the professionals were able to determine the number of calories the user had expended during the exercise session. Using this information, the professional athletes were able to plan an exercise regimen specifically for the individuals they were training. The results were far more accurate than the results obtained by using previously established methods.
