OMsignal Smart Clothing is a Canadian company that manufactures bio-sensing attire that connects to smartphones in real time. This company claims to work at the intersection of wearable technology, fashion markets, and well-being to change how people stay fit and healthy. It boasts of a multidisciplinary team of professionals that comprises experts in the fields of software engineering, bio-signal engineering, fashion design, smart textile, neuroscience, medicine, and mobile product development.
With the help of this team, OMsignal specializes in the creation of near-invisible biosensors that are embedded into their clothing to track heart rate, breathing, and the number of calories burnt in the course of a workout. The black box, which contains multiple sensors, snaps into the garment and records all the necessary statistics of the wearer. According to OMsignal, the OM technology reads the body’s most profound signals, interprets them into actionable insight and wirelessly communicates them directly to the OMsignal mobile app.
Company History
Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, OMsignal was founded in 2011 by Frederic Chanay and Stephane Marceau. This company is backed by leading venture capital funds from the US, Canada, and Asia and has raised $37M in funding (as of September 2018). Today, OMsignal is the developer of OMshirt, a bio-sensing smart shirt for men, OMbra, a smart sports bra and OMrun, a mobile app for mindful running.
Product Lines
All OMsignal garments come in a wide range of sizes from XS to 3XL. They are integrated with breath-tracking and printed ECG sensors that claim to track the wearer’s natural biometrics. OMsignal products come in 3 main categories:
Everyday Apparel
- Everyday Shirt: This shirt comes fitted with either long or short sleeve design.
- Everyday bra: This bra is built using a soft inner mesh, fully adjustable straps, and removable padding.
Sleep Wear
- Shirt: This shirt has a loose fit with long and short sleeves and a round and V-neck design.
- Sleep Camisole: This camisole provides comfort, minimum support with no compression and adjustable straps
Active Wear
- OMshirt: This smart shirt is manufactured using a blend of nylon-polyester with silver-based threads woven in. It contains an array of sensors that are placed to capture real-time data. The electrocardiogram (ECG) and accelerometer, for instance, allow the user to monitor variations in their heartbeat as they work out. Other sensors enable the calculation of calories burnt throughout a workout.
According to OMsignal, the OMshirt contains stretchable, machine washable fabric that is designed to compress the torso area to encourage blood flow during and after exercise to stimulate recovery. The shirt uses a small detachable “black box” to convey the data collected via Bluetooth to a smartphone in real-time. All the data collected is transmitted to the Cloud, where it is analyzed further using automated algorithms. The black box has an integrated battery which the company claims can run for up to 30 hours without needing to recharge.
- OMbra: According to OMsignal, this bra is built to be a good workout tracker while also being a good sports bra by providing all the data you would expect from a top of the line fitness watch, but in a gadget-free device. This bra comprises all the standard features of a sports bra including stretchable fabric, mesh panels in high sweat areas, adjustable straps, removable padding, a hook, and eye clasp and a racer-back design.
OMsignal claims that the OMbra can track heart rate, breathing, calories burned, movement, effort level, and fatigue, among other running data. Its OMrun app translates this data into performance analysis, which it claims offers insights to help the wearer improve their efficiency by assessing their level of fatigue and providing feedback on their performance.
Target Market
OMsignal primarily focuses on performance-oriented athletes and health and fitness aficionados. It claims to track an individual’s performance level and vital stats in real-time, to help them achieve active, fit, and healthy lives.
Studies and Independent Verification
There are no studies or independent verifications that prove OMsignal’s validity and reliability.
Pricing
Since OMsignal is a technology platform, it does not sell directly to consumers. Instead, they sell to companies that are involved in health, wellness, sports and worker safety. OMsignal sells to many different apparel companies including Ralph Lauren, Athos, and Hexoskin. The OMbra starter pack retails at about $199 and $59 for individual bras. The Compression shirt for men kit starts at around $275. The apparel costs even more if you opt for high-end clothing like Ralph Lauren.
Smartphone Connections
OMsignal has a specially built mobile app that gives users real-time stats on a vast range of different performance metrics. The app provides a broad spectrum of easily accessible information including heart rate, depth of breathing and stress level stats. With time, this application analyses your biometric data and uses the results to make suggestions on how to improve your workout or lower stress levels.
Contact Information
OMsignal
75 rue Queen, Suite 3700
Montreal, QC H3C 2N6 Canada
Phone: +1 514-419-3726
Warranty
OMsignal provides consumers with a 12-month Limited warranty for the OMbox (black box) and USB charging cable. It also offers a 3-month warranty for the OMbra from the date of original purchase. Before OMsignal grants a warranty claim, the product undergoes various checks to determine the cause of the problem and whether a product exchange is necessary.
These warranties are not applicable in cases of normal wear and tear, defects or damage caused by misuse, accidents, modification, unauthorized repair or installation. If an exchange is deemed necessary and within the warranty period, OMsignal covers everything including shipping costs.
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