The Internet of Underthings: NEC develops smart undergarments that track data about your health

NEC has teamed up with Japanese underwear manufacturer Gunze to develop smart undergarments that monitor health and send the information wirelessly to an app for users and fitness professionals to look at.

The garments, which include underwear, are woven from conductive metallic textiles by Gunze and each piece of clothing has a wearable device containing sensors attached to it. The devices measure the user's heart rate, as well as how many calories they have consumed and how straight their back is.

The data collected is instantly sent to a smartphone app, which processes the data to craft reports charting the user's health and stores it in the cloud using technology provided by NEC.

The solution is targeted at fitness-related businesses, with the intent that personal trainers and gym instructors use the technology to offer personalised advice to users on how they can improve their posture during exercises, as well as track the user's general health. And although the garments contain cutting-edge electronics, they can still be washed because the wearable device is detachable.

NEC and Gunze also hope to launch a personalised service to help gym users track their health and progress on their smartphones based on data from the undergarments in March 2017.

The smart undergarments will be on show at the Wearable Expo, which will be held at the Tokyo Big Sight in Japan from 13 to 15 January.