The Cambridge wearable tech company making workforces healthier and more productive
MvBii Ventures launches new app and updated lifestyle tracker
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A Cambridge wearable tech company is aiming to make city workforces healthier and more productive.
MvBii Ventures is launching a new app and an updated lifestyle tracker, the z-Track 2.0 on Friday, (October 7) and Addenbrooke’s staff will be among the first users.
Trials of the tracker will also start with West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, and Cambridge accounting firm Grant Thornton.
Ludo Chapman, commercial director of MvBii Ventures, said: “There’s a huge move of science that’s saying people are destroying their lives by sitting for too long.”
Ludo said this is being called ‘sitting disease’.
“If people are working for half an hour, 45 minutes and then taking a bout of exercise for five or 10 minutes throughout the day it’s much healthier than if somebody lives their life at work, constantly sitting at a desk and going to the gym at night.”
Studies into ‘sitting disease’ have shown that, on average, Brits sit for up to 8.9 hours a day, and the effects of prolonged inactivity can lead to weight gain and can affect blood sugar regulation and blood pressure levels. Some have gone as far as suggesting that ‘sitting disease’ may become the new smoking.
Mr Chapman continued: “It’s very important that you have this rhythm of exercise and rest. I’m now living this principle and it’s much better for my concentration and for my productivity.
“Whereas before I was slogging away and trying to get my work done, now what I do is work for half an hour, stop, walk for 10 minutes, work again for half an hour and do that. And my concentration levels are 10 times better than they ever were. It makes a huge difference.”
The MvBii team includes Mr Chapman, Justin Pisani, Matt Wright, Rob Gordon and Dan Walton, and for their newest instalment they’ve brought in Cambridge-based Green Custard to design their new app.
The trackers will be available on Amazon, but it’s businesses with proactive employee wellness programs that MvBii are targeting to make a real impact on the UK workforce.
And as you’d expect from a Cambridge company, it’s a smart bit of kit.
Mr Chapman said: “There’s an accelerometer in it, a thermometer, it’s monitoring all sorts of different things and it keeps an eye on your movement, so if you’re sat at your computer and not being active it’ll know. And it’ll buzz after 30 minutes.”
During the length of the trial anonymous employee behaviour will be recorded and analysed by The University of Bedfordshire. MvBii also aims to provide bespoke devices with branding and different features that suit the health needs of different organisations.
Jeremy Read, partner for Grant Thornton in the central region, said: “We care about all aspects of our people’s wellbeing and by offering the chance to participate in initiatives such as this, we can encourage a healthy, balanced lifestyle alongside their work in providing support and insight to innovative local businesses.”
The app then shows how balanced activity has been through the day.
By keeping activity well balanced it is claimed that a user’s life expectancy could potentially be increased by 10 years.
The tracker costs £45.99.
