Fitbit founders launch AI-powered wristband to monitor health of whole family
Luffu Link is a sleek, wireless wristband designed to track multiple users at once, conceived by wearable technology company Fitbit to "bring your family's health and safety together".
Available in onyx black, halo gold and sterling blue, the wristband features a metallic double-barrelled body connected to a minimalist strap and has a battery life of up to five days.
The lightweight wearable is the first physical component of the AI-powered Luffu app, which James Park and Eric Friedman of Google-owned Fitbit designed to gather the separate movements of a family and subsequently combine their health data.
Designed to be worn individually by a group of family members, each user's data is communicated via the app.
The screenless wristband features a singular voice-controlled button, fitted to record "everyday health details" ranging from information on symptoms and medications to mood changes and meal plans.
Luffu Link also continuously captures its user's background activity, including sleep patterns and calories burned each day, as well as their resting heart and breathing rates.
The wristband's built-in GPS facilitates location sharing between families, alerting users when individuals enter or leave designated areas.
Double-pressing the wearable's button can also send a "simple check-in" to selected family members, saving the need to contact them by phone.
Park and Friedman were motivated to create the Luffu products after learning that almost one in four adults in the USA are family caregivers, according to a recent report that claimed this figure has risen by almost 50 per cent in the last decade.
Their hope is that by wearing wristbands, families can sync their health and safety data to streamline their communication and close "a major gap" in consumer health tools.
"Families are still piecing together information across wearables, patient portals, medication lists, calendars, notes, text threads, location apps and other disconnected tools," said the duo.
The pair explained that they wanted to avoid designing wristbands that look like "bulky personal safety devices", noting that while the Luffu app is compatible with existing individual wearables, Luffu Link was created to enhance the experience.
Park and Friedman also considered the Luffu products' use of AI to collect data.
"Advances in AI have made it possible to capture information far more simply and naturally, using voice, text, photos and connected data, while also understanding how those signals relate to one another over time," said the duo.
"It's proactive intelligence designed to help families understand what matters and what to do next, not AI added for AI's sake," they claimed.
The world of wearable technology is ever-evolving. In June, tech giant Meta released its first in-house-designed AI smart glasses, with one of the three styles created in collaboration influencer Kylie Jenner – a much-debated launch that we discussed on our Dezeen Weekly podcast.
The images are courtesy of Luffu.
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