Polar Electro

Polar
Private – OY
Industry Sports instruments
Founded 1977, Kempele, Finland
Founder Seppo Säynäjäkangas
Headquarters Kempele, Finland
Products Heart rate monitors
Number of employees
 1,200
Website www.polar.fi
Polar V800 advanced multisports GPS watch

Polar Electro Oy (globally known as Polar) is a manufacturer of sports training computers, particularly known for developing the world's first wireless heart rate monitor.[1]

The company is based in Kempele, Finland and was founded in 1977. It now has 26 subsidiaries with 12,000 total employees that supply over 35,000 retail outlets in more than 80 countries, with approximately 1200 employed worldwide. Polar manufactures a range of heart rate monitoring devices and accessories for athletic training and fitness and also measure heart rate variability.

History

In 1975, there was no accurate way to record heart rates during training, and the idea of a wireless, portable heart rate monitor was conceived on a cross country skiing track in Finland.[2] Polar was founded in 1977, and filed its first patent for wireless heart rate measurement three years later. Its founder Seppo Säynäjäkangas was the inventor of the first wireless EKG heart rate monitor.[3] In 1982, Polar launched the first ever wearable wire-free heart rate monitor, the Sport Tester PE 2000.[4][5][6]

Since the very beginning Polar has been developing its devices through a rigorous scientific process aiming at for the most accurate and precise measurement possible for devices of this type. To consumers this meant that for quite a long time (when for example comparing against some other manufacturers of heart rate monitors and fitness trackers) Polar did not offer heart rate measurement without a separate chest strap accessory. On the other hand, its devices were recognized for their accuracy and this resulted in Polar devices being frequently used as the preferred devices in various scientific studies[7][8] as well as being adopted by many universities research departments. In part due to its own history and the affiliation with universities and the scientific community Polar offers a research co-operation program focused on supporting studies in exercise science.[9][10]

In November 2015 Polar released its first wrist-worn heart rate monitor A360.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ Matt Fitzgerald (18 June 2005). Runner's World The Cutting-Edge Runner: How to Use the Latest Science and Technology to Run Longer, Stronger, and Faster. Rodale. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-1-59486-091-1. The Finnish company Polar Electro, founded in 1977, was the first to sell wireless heart rate monitors for athletes and still dominates this market.
  2. ↑ Michael Czinkota; Ilkka Ronkainen (18 August 2006). International Marketing. Cengage Learning. pp. 310–. ISBN 0-324-31702-6. The origins of the Finnish sports instruments producer Polar Electro can be traced back to the need of cross-country skiing ... By the year 1982, the technology had advanced to the point that the first wireless heart rate monitor was ready.
  3. ↑ Heart rate monitor
  4. ↑ Joe Friel (1 June 2009). Total Heart Rate Training: Customize and Maximize Your Workout Using a Heart Rate Monitor. Ulysses Press. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-1-56975-389-7. Polar introduced the first wireless heart rate monitor using electric field data transfer—the Sport Tester PE 2000. The next year, the company came out with a device containing a computer interface—the Sport Tester ...
  5. ↑ Sally Edwards (1 January 1993). The Heart Rate Monitor Book. Polar CIC. pp. 127–. ISBN 978-0-9634633-0-2. In 1982 Polar Electro Oy introduced the world to the first wireless heart rate monitors. These first generation heart rate monitors (the "PE 2000s") were released onto the market and readily accepted by athletes, particularly at the elite and ...
  6. ↑ Jeroen Scheerder (2009). Vlaanderen loopt! Sociaal-wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar de loopsportmarkt (in Dutch). Academia Press. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-90-382-1484-9. 1982 Polar lanceert de Sport Tester PE2000, de eerste draadloze hartslagmeter
  7. ↑ Individual differences in the responses to endurance and resistance training http://hur.creamailer.fi/assets/uploads/4386b9ed941a611d10cbe3626047fab11214a71d/shared/files/individualdifferences.pdf
  8. ↑ Occupational medicine:Metabolic Rate Prediction in Young and Old Men by Heart Rate, Ambient Temperature, Weight and Body Fat Percentage https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/56/6/56_14-0063-BR/_html Device RS800CX
  9. ↑ Polar's research co-operation guidelines: http://www.polar.com/en/about_polar/who_we_are/research/research_guidelines
  10. ↑ Summary page of Polar research http://www.polar.com/en/about_polar/who_we_are/research
  11. ↑ https://www.polar.com/en/products/sport/A360
  12. ↑ http://updates.polar.com/2015/11/polar-a360-accurate-simplicity/

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.