December 10, 2019 – Sports technology company FORM, which introduced its augmented reality swim goggles earlier this year, and wearable sports and fitness technology company, Polar, have today announced the release of a free firmware update for the FORM Swim Goggles that enables support for Polar’s OH1 and OH1+ optical heart rate monitors, giving swimmers the ability to view their real-time heart rate in their line of sight throughout their swim.
FORM first announced support for Polar’s monitors in September this year, with the initial date for the firmware update tagged as November. Only slightly later than scheduled, starting today, owners of FORM Swim Goggles can now update their goggles to the latest firmware using the FORM Swim App for iPhone and Android. Once updated, the goggles will be able to connect wirelessly to Polar’s OH1 and OH1+ monitors, enabling real time heart rate data that includes beats per minute and zones, which will be shown on the goggles’ smart display.
FORM is also offering a purpose-built mounting clip that allows the Polar OH1/OH1+ to be mounted to the strap of the FORM Swim Goggles, where the wearer’s heart rate is measured from their temple, and a reliable wireless connection is achieved between the two products. Existing Polar and FORM customers can redeem a free FORM mounting clip. As of today, new pairs of FORM Swim Goggles will begin shipping with the FORM mounting clip included in the box.
“Real-time heart rate is an essential aspect of training in land-based sports like running and cycling,” said FORM founder and CEO Dan Eisenhardt. “Without that information, it’s easy to stagnate in your training, either by taking it too easy or by overtraining and burning out. Now, thanks to FORM and Polar, real-time heart rate has come to the pool. Swimmers can see their heart rate in our goggles’ display throughout their swim. This is a game-changer for swimmers, triathletes, and the coaches who train them.”
Once a swim has been completed with the FORM Swim Goggles and Polar OH1/OH1+, data for the entire workout can be reviewed in the FORM Swim App on the user’s smartphone. The app matches up heart rate to metrics like split times, stroke rate, stroke count, pace per 100, and calories. Swimmers can also view a graph of their heart rate throughout a swim, as well as a chart of how much time they spent in each heart rate zone. The tools help to give swimmers and coaches greater insight into workouts.
“We’ve worked closely with FORM over the past year to bring heart rate support to the FORM Swim Goggles,” said Tom Fowler, President of Polar USA. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Swimming with the FORM Swim Goggles and the Polar OH1/OH1+ combines the best of two worlds: the transformative training experience provided by FORM and the gold standard in heart rate technology delivered by Polar.”
The FORM Swim Goggles are available now from the company’s website, and also from Amazon. The Polar OH1 and OH1+ are available now from Polar and its authorized distributors and retailers.
Image credit: FORM
Related Posts
About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.