Smartphone i-dration device created by Cambridge scientists

 A new prototype has been created to inform users, via smartphones, of their hydration levels. Created by Cambridge Consultants developers, it will be used to demonstrate how “hardware apps” will start to grow in future markets.

 

The i-dration device is a bottle that flashes blue when the user is deemed dehydrated. This hardware application will advise users of their level of dehydration by monitoring the amount of fluid, temperature and drinking frequency and wirelessly transmitting in real-time information, via Bluetooth, to user’s smartphones.

 

The smartphone application in turn works with the phone’s in-built accelerometer and gyroscope to assess exercise levels and combine heart rate chest band data with manually entered details such as height, age and weight to measure user’s hydration levels. If the user is deemed dehydrated the bottle will flash blue, informing the user to drink more liquid.

 

This device will be useful for people who exercise regularly, including athletes in training, to improve their endurance. In addition to this company representatives claim this i-dratration could be applicable to hospitals, not just for patients but both doctors and nurses.

 

The prototype is still very much at the concept stage so it seems unlikely to be released in 2010, and certainly will not be available for the mainstream public to purchase for a while yet.

 

However Rachel Harker of Cambridge Consultants stated “We believe that in the next 12-18 months we will see a plethora of new dedicated ‘hardware apps’ – such as the i-dration drinks bottle – that will work in tandem with a smart-phone to enhance a range of consumer products and services. Inexpensive wireless hardware apps have the potential to increase the versatility of smartphones.”