New York City-based invention company Quirky has selected a smart yoga mat with LED lights and sensors as a new project it'll help develop and eventually sell at retail stores. It's called Beacon.
Beacon hopes to provides interactive guidance to people who want to learn Yoga...the right way. According to Quirky, the smart yoga mat "communicates via bluetooth or USB cable with your laptop or smartphone to track progress, provide feedback, and help perfect your pose."
More specificially, it features both embedded LEDs and pressure sensors, enabling Beacon to turn colors and alert people if they're in the correct position, applying the right pressure, or are accurately balanced, etc: "It turns purple to show you the correct position, red in areas where you’re applying too much pressure, and green when you are accurately balanced," explained Quirky on Beacon's description page.
Apart from the LED system, which bases feedback on weight distribution, Beacon features a rechargeable battery and is currently made of plastic and PVC foam. Dimensions are as follows: 610 mm x 15mm x 1930 mm. Also, according to Quirky members who have voted on the project or voiced opinions through crowd-sourced opinion polls, a good bargain price for Beacon would be around $49, while $66 is viewed as a bit pricey.
Keep in mind price, quantity, and features are subject to change, because Beacon is still in the developmental stage and hasn't hit production yet: "We've finished the designs, but that's just one step on the journey of making a product," Quirky explained.
Founded in 2009, Quirky aims to help inventors bring their product ideas to life, and Quirky’s completed products can be found at many international retail chains such as The Home Depot, Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, Amazon.com, and of course Quirky.com.
Check out the gallery below or Quirky for more information on the Beacon smart yoga mat.