Counting calories that burn through activity is a constant quandary.
One can only run on a treadmill so long, watching intently as the pedometer reads out the number of calories melted during a session of exercise. Not to mention the question of how many calories are burned through basic daily movements and even during sleep.
But technology - and youthful ambition - is presenting a round-the-clock solution for those consumed with this calculation.
A group of Georgia Tech students has crafted a device that allows individuals to constantly compute the amount of calories they burn - even as they sleep.
"It's a completely converged device," said Garrett Langley, 21, a senior in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) who spearheaded the project. "It's a single unit that provides complete fitness monitoring and management."
Dubbed HappyHR, the instrument is a personal monitor that allows users to measure and compare day-to-day physical and caloric activity. The name is a reference to the euphoric feeling that follows an intense round of exercise - the "happy hour."
The small, rectangular-shaped instrument straps to the wrist or ankle, gathering data related to heart rate and exercise. The information is then transferred via Bluetooth to a PC, where the statistics can be analyzed through Web-based software.
Although the device focuses on calorie counting, Langley envisions more thorough health applications including respiratory and glucose monitoring.
This tool began as a senior design project for Langley, who viewed a marketplace that was lacking such technology coupled with a results-hungry populace eager for more health information. An aspiring entrepreneur, he also found that it provided an organic way for him to develop a business.
An avid runner, Langley himself was frustrated at the challenge of quantifying fitness results.
"I saw that there was a huge gap in the market," he said. "There are simple $30 pedometers, and there's nothing in between that and $400 health monitors."
Comparatively, HappyHR should carry a $100 price tag if it becomes commercially available.
Shortly after conceiving the idea, the development process became an interdisciplinary endeavor incorporating several colleges at Georgia Tech.