After all, smart training calls for smarter water bottles.
If there was ever a question as to whether smart bottles would come to fruition, the recent slew of successful crowdfunding campaigns will have surely put any doubts to rest. Looking to separate itself from the pack is the latest innovation from Maker duo Jac and Davis Saltzgiver, who have developed a connected water bottle geared specifically toward athletes.
When it comes to gaining a competitive edge, athletes will typically do everything in their power to enhance performance. From training and stretching to proper nutrition and sleeping habits, one area that is often overlooked is hydration. Maintaining an adequate H2O level, in many respects, is just as important as any of the techniques mentioned above. Fortunately, the creators of Trago are on a mission to help make water consumption awareness much easier and more accessible than ever before.
Currently live on Kickstarter, Trago is a patent-pending water bottle that, by connecting with a smartphone and other wearable devices via Bluetooth, accurately measures how much an athlete drinks and adjusts the optimal levels along the way. Through its accompanying app, users can set, monitor and meet their hydration goals based on input data like gender, age and activity. Aside from that, Trago will also automatically update water intake on some of today’s most popular fitness platforms such as Myfitnesspal, Apple Health and Under Armour Record.
Not only does Trago come with a sleek 24-ounce bottle of its own, it has been designed to fit on a majority of standard wide-mouth vessels. Simply remove the cap and throw it on any Nalgene, Camelbak and Hydro Flask, among many others.
“Trago uses patent-pending ultrasonic technology to measure precise water consumption data. You can think of it as similar to SONAR or ‘echo-location,” its creators write. “It knows when you’re drinking, when you refill, and even when the bottle is in a backpack/gym-bag (understanding when not to measure). As a result, Trago can take accurate measurements and conserve battery power accordingly.”
What’s nice is that Trago allows users to organize teams and private groups inside its app. This gives folks like coaches, trainers or even parents the ability to monitor an athlete’s hydration. In other words, guidance that only professionals would have access to back in the day.
Made out of stainless steel, the intelligent cap houses a Bluetooth Low Energy module for connectivity, a set of ultrasonic sensors for measuring liquids, motion sensors to detect how much the bottle moves, as well as a replaceable battery with a life of around six months.
Have you always wanted a smart bottle? Apparently you’re not alone. Trago has already garnered well over its $50,000 Kickstarter goal from more than 670 backers. Shipment is expected to kick off in March 2016 — just in time for the spring sports season!
