- Most of us measure our training
using some sort of device or app,
and probably take for granted the science behind it.
Recording heart rate, for example,
has become one of the more obvious parameters to use
when you're analysing your efforts in training
or a race, but where did all of this start?
It was here in Finland, that Polar designed
the first ever wearable heart rate monitor,
way back in 1977, a groundbreaking move at the time.
So today, I'm gonna be taking a look
inside this building, glancing back at the history,
discovering how we got to the products that we use today.
And going behind the scenes to take a look at some
of the rigorous testing required to make such devices.
(upbeat electronic music)
Before delving into the testing labs,
I want to find out a little bit more
about the science behind monitoring heart rate.
And for that, I'm gonna be speaking
to one of the directors here at Polar, Raija Laukkanen.
- There was a need from a sports coach,
to measure heart rates of athletes noninvasively.
Because you cannot take ECG equipment
into the field or forest and so a professor
invented a wireless heart rate monitor.
And this wireless heart rate monitor invention
was based on the ECG measurement actually,
so it was compared how you can measure
with a small amount of electrodes, heart rate,
and transfer it automatically to the wrist unit.
So that was actually the ECG
from lab, to the field was the base
for the whole heart rate monitoring in the beginning.
This was the patented feature,
and the patented creator, the first one ever.
(upbeat electronic music)
- Anyway, enough talking, I think it's time
I want to test out some of this high tech kit.
Okay, I have just discovered
this quite amazing looking hole.
Now, Vesna tells me this is
a very serious piece of testing kit.
Now Vesna, what happens inside here?
What is this? What are these spikes for?
- This is the anechoic chamber.
We are using it for testing our antennas for our devices,
and in general it's used for antenna testing.
Basically tests it's performance,
not to mention too many parameter like efficiency and gain.
- Okay.
- Which will enable functionality
of GPS and be on our devices.
- And why is it, why does it need
so much testing for a watch?
Why is it different on a watch?
- Yes, it's interesting, if you have a phone,
the antenna will not have so much body loss,
but worn, like all the wearables, which are worn on body,
have this body loss which will decrease it's performance,
so we need to optimise for
the best performance on worn on the body.
- Yeah, okay, and why these spikes?
I want to touch them, I'm not going to,
but what are they for?
- (laughs) They are basically absorbing
different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.
- It looks like a human washing machine
that's really comfortable.
(laughter)
Okay, enough talking about it.
Can I get my watch tested then, can we put it in here?
The M430 and see and have a look?
- Yeah, let's try.
- So now what?
- Now we close it so it means
that this is completely closed.
- Yeah
- And now,
- It's like a magic trick,
I expect something else to come out,
other than my watch.
- Yeah, I'm not gonna press a button.
(both laugh)
- I'm gonna have a rabbit.
- Yeah, but basically then,
we use our programme
- Okay.
- which communicates with that then.
- So what's happening inside of there?
Is it moving around in there?
- Yes, it's moving around.
- Okay. And you do the same testing for all the products
in here, all your wearable products?
- Yes. Almost all of them.
- Well, it's best to mention there's a lot of emphasis on
how the watch actually works on the human wrist,
but there's only so much you can expect humans to do.
So, there are some alternatives.
For example, take a look at this.
It's a robotic arm.
Well, I'm not sure if you've managed to work it out yet,
but the arm is actually going for a walk,
probably a fairly brisk walk.
And as you can see, it's wearing
three versions of the M-430.
And this is so they can get a lot of data from replicating
that movement hundreds and hundreds of times.
But, without any worry of having human error.
You're probably asking why.
It's to develop the algorithm so
that when we are wearing it ourselves,
we can tell, for example, if we're running,
how long our stride length is, looking at the cadence.
But it can also be programmed
to do any different sporting activity,
even working on swimming at that moment.
And beyond sport, they actually use it to replicate sleep.
So, it can be kept still with a slight movement
like you might imagine in a night's sleep.
Having said all that though, sometimes,
only humans will do (snap).
(upbeat electronic music)
Well sadly, there were no running dummies to be found.
So, here I am actually having to do some work myself.
Now, we're underground in the Polar factory in this bunker,
but, we're actually replicating a pretty sunny, windy day.
So, they use this area for testing the equipment
and a real life full,
as real life conditions as you can get.
And then on the screen in front of me, behind you,
we've got my ECG, so that's being very accurately measured
from a belt that I'm wearing.
With that, I can compare how the equipment actually reacts
to these real life conditions
and as the athlete gets a little hot, sweaty,
or in my case a little bit out of breath.
Obviously, myself, or anyone else for that matter,
can't run at 40 degree heat, for example,
for very long, or other conditions.
So, there are, luckily, other machines out there
that will test such extreme parameters.
But all this testing and development happens for a reason.
It's to develop new products.
So I think it's time we went back upstairs to just see
how far Polar have come with their development.
(upbeat electronic music)
- What we have here is the very first prototype of
wireless heart rate monitoring.
What you see here on this little wooden block
is I got a prototype coil system.
- Okay.
- Where they were just testing the apparatus to see
how you can get the heart rate off the chest, the signal,
into another device that was away from the body.
- Got you.
- Polar went commercial in the early 80s.
In '82, we launched the sport tester,
and we had very first products out there.
Probably embraced by the triathlete community, you know,
the Mark Allens and the Pauli Kiurus and these guys.
Very, very solid product that really set the ball rolling
and started to get more athletes at various levels
also embracing the technology.
This is long before Windows came out,
so we had to develop our own computer interface
and that kind of thing.
So here's a printer actually where you literally print out
the stats from the training session.
Then you get into the, for example, the Vantage series,
see the black device there.
What you start to see is a lot of miniaturisation.
- [Narrator] Right
- The product get into a lower profile.
- Yep.
- This was a product that was really also
embraced by triathletes, simply because it was so easy
to get the wet suit on and off.
It was so low profile, it made it very convenient.
Polar was the very first product, or company
that released a heart rate monitor that also gave you
cycling speed and distance.
- [Narrator] All right.
- That was a cycle advantage.
That was also still back in the 90s.
So we were the world's very first company to integrate
activity tracking into a triathlete product.
- Right.
- Multi-purpose product. What we were able to do then,
is be able to provide the athlete the overview of
what happens also just beyond the actual training session.
- Yeah.
- And this was really a boon for a lot of coaches as well,
you know, just to get that overall perspective.
I think we're definitely going into that direction
where we're going to be able to
factor in more of the variables,
give you more contextual feedback, you know.
If you think about the training load
and recovery functionality, make that smarter.
Let it bring on more of the inputs from how well you're
sleeping and how your muscles are recovering,
what type of training sessions have you done further back,
and then how has your body responded to that.
That's an example of it.
- Yeah.
- Definitely, the algorithms are getting more advanced,
and then the computational power
is definitely getting better.
- All of that has seriously opened my eyes.
And to what goes into something like this watch
that I wear everyday to help me with my training.
And I must admit, I am excited to see where the technology
is going to head in the future.
But right now, I think to go and do some work myself
because, apparently, I have actually only done 49%
of my daily activity target.
But if you've enjoyed this, hit the thumbs-up like button
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And if you want to learn how to train with heart rate zones,
we've made a video on that, just here.