When we think of a wearable, an activity bracelet or smartwatch usually comes to mind. Maybe a ring or a chest band. However, Gatorade has something completely different: a sticker that connects to the cell phone and analyzes the athlete’s sweat.
This Gatorade sticker is a wearable that analyzes sweat to tell athletes how and when to hydrate
Gatorade is better known for its sports drinks than anything else. But lately, it has entered a directly related market, sports accessories. Their new wearable is said to create “a unique sweat profile” for each user. With this, the user will be able to know how much they have dehydrated during an activity or for example the sodium loss so far.
Gx Sweat Patch: Monitoring the sweat
The name is Gx Sweat Patch and as it indicates, it is a sweat patch. They indicate that the patch should be placed on the inside of the left arm while exercising. Once the workout is finished, the patch must be scanned with the smartphone application and the user’s sweat profile will be generated.
As the user works out and sweats, the patch’s channels absorb some of that sweat. There are no specifics on how but the sweat captured in those channels is analyzed to determine how much fluid the user has lost and more curiously, how much sodium. All this to help the user hydrate and recover better, presumably with Gatorade?
The patch channel is actually like a progress bar and fills up as the user sweats more. There is another smaller channel that indicates the sodium concentration. In a sense, it is possible to know this data without the app, as it is seen directly on the patch. In other words, there is no electronics or Bluetooth connectivity between the sticker and the smartphone, the latter simply interprets the picture on the patch.
The smartphone app, in addition to analyzing the information from the patch, offers recommendations to help improve the athlete’s performance, they explain. The app can also be connected to platforms such as Strava, Garmin, or Apple Health to integrate the data. If there is no mention of Google’s health platform it is not in vain, the app is currently only available for iPhone.
The patches, being patches, are for single use only. Fortunately, their price is relatively low, Gatorade sells them for $25 in a pack of two.
