Samsung’s smart belt, WELT debuts on Kickstarter

Among the few concept smart products that Samsung’s newly formed Creative Labs showcased at CES early this year, beautifully crafted smart belt called Welt caught quite a few eyeballs.

The WELT might look like an ordinary belt at first look, but it packs in an array of sensors that can be used to track three main health indicators — waist size, activity, and food intake. Firstly, in terms of activity, the smart belt acts as a pedometer to count the number of steps taken and can also record inactivity by calculating time spent sitting throughout the day.

Then comes the magnetic sensor in the belt buckle records your waist size in real time, a key starting point for gauging overall health. It can sense waist sizes from 28 to 44 inches in circumference.

Another feature that’s complementary to waist tracking is tracing eating habits in real-time. Samsung points out that abdominal fat is a product of excess calorie intake, and the waist can expand or contract over a duration of time. The WELT also keeps track of these rapid variations in waist size to monitor your overeating patterns.

The micro USB port in the belt allows you to charge the WELT and has the capacity to last more than 20 days on a single full charge. The WELT app, on the other hand, gives you actionable insights, warnings, and feedback to focus on staying active and fit. Just like any other fitness app, it also allows you to set personalized health goals meeting your lifestyle decisions.

Well, the product with high functionality quotient has just hit Kickstarter with an estimated delivery date of January, starting at $69 for the casual version and $99 for the classic one. Though many are skeptical as to how a smart belt would motivate someone to be fit, 270+ backers who’ve pledged a total of almost $28,000 believe the opposite.