BodyCap, the startup behind the smart electronic pill that measures core body temperature has just announced that two of its other wearable health monitoring devices are being put to good use on the International Space Station.
As part of the European Space Agency's EveryWear data collection program, astronaut Thomas Pesquet will be using three wearable sensors to vigorously record physiological data during his six-month Proxima mission.
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Two of those devices have been built by BodyCap, the first is a flexible blood pulse wave sensor to record how the astronaut's arteries react to weightlessness. The other is an e-Tact smart patch that measures skin temperature and activity tracking and will be used to help study sleep patterns in space.
The e-Tact can be worn on any part of the body and is designed to be used for long periods. Data can be stored on the device or sent wirelessly to a companion device like a tablet when it's time to analyse or review the info.
This isn't the first time that wearable tech has been considered fit for space travel. Smart clothing startup Hexoskin successfully won a contract with the Canadian Space Agency to develop the On Astronaut Wireless Sensor to help monitor the vitals of crew members involved in long haul space travel.
BodyCap is planning to make the e-Tact wearable available in Europe and the US in February 2017 with pre-sales starting at the end of January. It's hoped that it can be used to monitor chronic diseases and sleep disorders as well play a part in rehabilitation programs.
Source: SpaceRef
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.