Itongadol.- After creating products for the Israeli air force and brands like Samsung and Under Armour, Israeli wearable tech company LifeBEAM is now making its own product – wireless, artificially intelligent headphones, or as many call them, “hearables,” headphones that can learn about you as you workout.
LifeBEAM’s newest product Vi will tell you if you are running behind your usual pace on a familiar run and ask you politely if you want to speed it up. Or if your heart rate is getting too high, Vi will sense that and advise you to slow down.
Vi has aerospace-grade biosensors, Hi-Fi sound quality, an ergonomic design, and the ability to learn and grow with each user, LifeBEAM says.
Having launched on Kickstarter on June 1, Vi is now available to pre-order for $199. The company, which previously raised $16 million in venture funding, has already smashed its original crowdfunding campaign goal of $100,000 by raising in excess of $500,000 in just two weeks.
LifeBeam has partnered with Harman Kardon, a manufacturer of audio and video products, to provide high-fidelity sound for Vi’s earbuds.
“The future of wearables is using AI to personalize our health and fitness in real time, and we created Vi to lead this new frontier,” said Omri Yoffe, CEO and Co-founder of LifeBEAM in a statement. “By improving a person’s awareness of their own behaviors, environment, and real-time physiology, Vi provides an inspiring and truly smarter workout experience. We call Vi an ‘Awareable,’ as it’s the first and only wearable with the power to actually be aware of a person’s activity patterns and coach their behavior in real time.”
Vi does have some competition: In 2010, Sony came out wit $300 “artificially intelligent” headphones, the Sony MDR-NC300D Digital Noise Canceling Earbuds. Vi, however, have built-in software that adapts to your body using biometrics such as temperature, heart rate and other data measured through inner ear motion.
Vi also includes a workout coach and music to match your pace.
In the 2013 feature film “Her”, the main character falls in love with the voice inside his computer. With Vi, LifeBEAM hopes you’ll fall in love with your new virtual personal trainer.