Understanding How Jawbone UP Functions

Some fitness enthusiasts thrive on collecting detailed information about their workouts. For them, tracking data, monitoring progress, and setting future targets is just as satisfying as the post-exercise rush of endorphins. A growing number of companies are creating devices to support these needs, including Jawbone, a brand primarily recognized for its Bluetooth hands-free gadgets.

The Jawbone UP is a fitness device and iPhone application. It resembles a simple rubber wristband, but inside it contains technology that monitors your daily activity levels and can notify you if you've been inactive for too long. You wear it throughout the day, only removing it to sync the data or recharge the device.

The Jawbone UP isn't a complete loop—the ends of the wristband remain open. One end features a cap that covers a -millimeter plug, also referred to as a TRS plug. When connected to an iPhone, the Jawbone UP can transmit the activity data it has collected.

The companion app, also developed by Jawbone, showcases your data to help you track your progress. It also monitors your sleep patterns overnight. Additionally, the app includes a food diary feature, allowing you to log your meals and check if you're burning more calories than you're consuming.

UP Inside

If you remove the rubber casing from the UP, you'll uncover a strip of steel springs that help maintain the wristband's shape. On this strip are the UP's internal components, including a lithium-ion battery, a motion sensor, and a vibration motor. One end of the steel spring holds the -millimeter jack, while the other end features a button that lets you toggle the UP's operational modes.

The battery powers the device and lasts for several days. To recharge, simply connect the UP to a USB cable equipped with a headphone-jack adapter.

The motion sensor detects changes in acceleration, which is influenced by two factors: speed and direction. Whenever an object in motion experiences a change in either of these factors, it undergoes a change in acceleration. Motion sensors identify these shifts through miniature electromechanical components.

A basic solid-state accelerometer resembles a sandwich. The outer layers are capacitance plates that carry an electric charge, with a weight suspended in between them. When the sensor is stationary, the weight remains centered. However, when in motion, forces act on the weight, causing it to shift towards one plate and away from the other. This results in an increase in capacitance for the plate the weight moves toward and a decrease for the opposite plate. The sensor interprets this as movement.

As you continue moving, the weight inside the sensor shifts further, causing ongoing changes in the capacitance between the plates. The sensor processes this data, converting it into useful information such as the number of steps you've taken and an estimate of the calories you've burned.

What's UP, iPhone?

The UP wristband does not feature a display. To access all the valuable fitness data, you'll need to connect the UP to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch—at the time of writing, an Android app is in development. Simply plugging the TRS plug into your device’s headphone jack allows you to transfer the data. But how can a headphone jack transmit data?

One of the most common applications of the -millimeter jack is for connecting headphones. However, it's not the only data type that can be transmitted through a TRS plug. The TRS plug consists of three conductors: the tip, the ring, and the sleeve. When inserted into the corresponding jack, these three conductors make contact with three contact points, enabling the transfer of data as analog signals.

Data can travel both ways along a TRS plug. When you plug in your headphones, data from your device flows through the plug and into the speakers within your headphones, where it's converted from electricity into sound. In the case of the Jawbone UP, the data flows from the sensor into the TRS plug and then into your device. The app receives the data and processes it into a format that's easy to understand, such as the number of steps taken or calories burned.

The app also allows you to integrate your device's capabilities with the UP. For instance, the iPhone includes a built-in GPS receiver. While jogging outdoors, you can configure the app to utilize the iPhone's GPS to track your location during the activity. Afterward, pairing the UP with the iPhone enables the app to combine the motion sensor data from the UP with the GPS data from the iPhone.

Through the app, you can choose to share your progress with others on the Jawbone UP site, or keep it private. The app also lets you set challenges to conquer throughout the day. The vibrating motor in the UP allows you to set alerts, so if you remain still for too long, the UP will vibrate, reminding you it's time to move.

In sleep mode, the UP detects more subtle movements, functioning similarly to an actimetry sensor. These sensors monitor a person's movements during rest and sleep. The UP system analyzes the data using proprietary algorithms, producing a record of whether you slept soundly or tossed and turned. Sleep and fitness are interconnected—a restful night's sleep can accelerate your progress toward fitness goals.

Tracking Your Calorie Intake

You can log the foods you consume with the UP app. Keeping a food diary is a great strategy for anyone looking to lose weight. It provides a quick overview to see if you're on track to lose those extra pounds or build more muscle.

Research indicates that individuals who track their meals are more likely to lose weight and maintain their progress. A 2008 study by scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research found that participants who kept a record of their meals and activities lost an average of 12.8 pounds (5.8 kilograms) over six months [source: Hollis, et al.].

Although you can do this without an app or device, it requires more effort. For some, using a gadget or software can help bridge the gap between deciding to take action and getting distracted or remaining inactive on the couch.

The Jawbone UP app does more than just track your calorie intake. It also prompts you to reflect on how you feel after each meal. Taking a moment to assess how you feel can help guide you towards making healthier choices in the future.

The app offers eating challenges to keep things interesting. Instead of indulging in an endless array of pies, you might be asked to avoid processed foods for a week or commit to drinking eight glasses of water daily. Some challenges even contribute to charitable causes – completing a challenge means that Jawbone and its partners will make a donation to a selected charity.

The main goal of tracking your meals is to compare the number of calories you consume each day with the number you burn through physical activity. When you burn more calories than you eat, you're moving towards weight loss.

UP is Down

In late 2011, Jawbone faced a major issue when customers began calling to report failures with their UP wristbands. According to the company, the issue stemmed from certain capacitors inside the device.

A capacitor stores electrical energy, which sounds similar to a battery, but they function differently. A battery provides a steady flow of electrons through a chemical reaction, whereas a capacitor only stores electrons without generating them. The key difference is that a capacitor can release all its stored energy at once, unlike a battery.

A basic capacitor has two conductive plates separated by a nonconductive material called the dielectric. In a simple circuit, one plate connects to the negative side of a battery, accumulating electrons and gaining a negative charge. The other plate connects to the positive side, losing electrons and gaining a positive charge.

Negatively charged particles are drawn to positively charged surfaces, creating a potential difference. Once the voltage across the capacitor matches the battery's applied voltage, current stops flowing through the circuit. Despite the attraction between the electrons on the negatively charged plate and the positively charged plate, they can't cross the dielectric barrier. When the capacitor is included in a new circuit and activated by a switch, the stored energy is released as electrons redistribute, bringing the capacitor back to a neutral state.

In 2011, several UP wristbands experienced capacitor failures. Some struggled to maintain a charge, preventing the wristbands from accurately tracking data, while others lost the ability to charge entirely, rendering them useless. The issue became so widespread that Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman posted a letter on the company's website, announcing that they would refund customers' purchases. Rahman reiterated the company's commitment to delivering functional products and thanked customers for their continued support [source: Jawbone].

However, the root issue for Jawbone may not solely be faulty capacitors. The fitness gadget market is becoming increasingly crowded, with big names like Motorola Mobility joining the competition, alongside startups like Striiv. Will there be room for an iOS-specific fitness device, or will other products overshadow Jawbone's UP system? In the world of weight-loss gadgets, only the strongest will survive.