Stryd's innovation-first mindset has allowed us to create training technology with superior precision, accuracy, and more insight than other running power devices offered by companies like COROS, Garmin, Polar, and soon, Apple Inc. This article is an explanation of why Stryd's technology has the superior capability to provide quality running power that gives athletes the most control over their training.
The Technology at Work in Stryd
Location (on the foot)
Stryd's wearable hardware is designed for placement on the foot. The device was engineered with this in mind, and the location was chosen purposefully. More can be determined about the motion of a runner from the foot than from other common wearable locations such as the chest or pods attached to clothing at the waist.
Sensors
Stryd utilizes gyroscopes and accelerometers to sense the motion of a runner. By using many different types of sensors, we can collect more information about the motion of a runner and the path of their foot.
Result
Stryd is able to capture the motion of a runner's foot through three dimensional space. Directly measuring the motion of a runner through space reduces the potential for error through guesswork and estimations of less advanced technology.
The Technology of Other Running Power Devices
Other than Stryd, there are two other common methods of determining running power. These are:
Using data collected at the wrist, typically from a GPS/sports watch.
Data collected by a sports watch at the wrist, in conjunction with an external wearable such as a chest strap or "pod" worn on clothing around the waist.
Limitations
Other running power devices aren't capable of achieving the precision and accuracy of Stryd's wearable due to two primary limitations: reliance on GPS data, and reliance on sensors at the wrist.
The Problem with GPS:
Industry-standard sports watches almost universally rely on satellite data for positioning of a runner. Signals are sent hundreds of miles from a watch to a satellite and back. By nature, this method of determining the position and motion of a runner is prone to error and inconsistency. Many environmental factors will interfere with the transfer of the signal, distorting it, and introducing error into a runner's estimated position. These limitations are why Stryd chooses to use sensors at the foot instead, to eliminate these potential sources of error.
The Problem with sensors on the wrist (as opposed to the foot):
Most running power devices calculate the motion and biomechanics of a runner using a combination of GPS and data from other sensors in the sports watch on the wrist. Collecting data at the wrist inherently offers its own limitations for what and how energy is being used while running.
Watch power is as good as the quality of the GPS signal at that moment. It only works for outdoors, the accuracy suffers when there is bad weather, running under trees, running through high-rise buildings, running on the track, etc. It has a much bigger delay, which may lead to inaccurate or wrong interpretation of workout with highly dynamic speed (e.g. interval)"
Stryd has and continues to conduct large amounts of original research with laboratory-grade equipment at our headquarters in Boulder, CO. After a large amount of testing, Stryd purposefully chose our sensor location on the foot, because at the wrist, essential data about the biomechanics at work in the legs of a runner are lost. It is not possible to acquire the same quantity of relevant biomechanics from the wrist.