Run-n-Read bounces text as you bounce on a treadmill
The Run-n-Read is a small gadget that works in concert with your mobile device to compensate for head bobbing and let you read while jogging.
Attempting to read while running on a treadmill is an invitation to frustration. Your bouncing body just doesn't mix well with a static text. The Run-n-Read crowdfunding project from Weartrons has a clever solution. Congratulations, it's a bouncing baby gadget.
Here's the process. Get on the treadmill. Clip the Run-n-Read onto your shirt or headband. It communicates over Bluetooth with a specialized Run-n-Read e-reader app loaded on your iOS or Android device set up in front of your face. Pull up a good book or mobile Web page using the app. Jog. The Run-n-Read tracks your head movements and the text on the screen bounces up and down in time with your running.
To someone standing still, it looks like the page is bouncing. To the runner, it looks static. Tap the Run-n-Read to move a page forward or tap it twice to go back.
The challenge of reading while running has been tackled before, notably by Purdue University researchers who created an experimental system involving an infrared camera and goggles. The $55 accelerometer-equipped Run-n-Read, however, is a simpler approach, no goggles necessary.
The device also tracks basic workout statistics, such as steps and calories burned. Read-n-Run is designed for treadmill workouts, but it could be used in other situations where your head is bouncing around, like on public transportation or when riding shotgun in your buddy's off-road vehicle. Just don't try to use it while jogging on the street.