Top Secret Nerd- Garmin Navigation Patent

Top Secret Nerd- Garmin Navigation Patent /AKA -assisted fitness and dieting device In top secret nerd, we look at patents from major fitness brands around the world. Some of them make it to production and some of them don't. This week we look at the 2005 patent The Garmin Navigation PatentUS12419826. This "assisted fitness and dieting device" is everything we know about our favorite fitness tracker. This Patent is not only amazing but it was clearly ahead of its time. However, manufacturing a device like this would not only cost a fortune but too cumbersome to wear for the average fitness fanatic at the time. The Garmin Navigation-assisted fitness and dieting device is basically everything we see in the Fenix or forerunner devices of today. However, this unit does a little more than today's Garmin. In fact, it has a few interesting details our smartwatches don't have.

Dieting The device makes suggestions on your diet based on your fitness level. "The fitness information may also include an amount and type of certain food items that may be consumed by the user to equal the total calories burned during a workout. For example, the device may determine that the amount of calories burned during a workout equals the calories in an apple, a small serving of french fries, etc. and then display these food options." - Garmin Patent US12419826

Gaming Yes at one point Garmin wanted to introduce entertainment to your fitness device. For example, they added video gaming to the patent. "The device 10 may also include an entertainment component operable to execute at least one game that is stored in memory or otherwise accessible by the entertainment component. Preferably, the entertainment component is operable to execute a plurality of games" - Garmin Patent US12419826

Voice It may not be a voice assistant but super cool. The patent leaves room for a future vocal coach application added into the patent. "The device may also track total miles, then provide a text or audio message such as “You have now walked across Texas” when the user has walked this many total miles. " - Garmin Patent US12419826

Back to the Future for Garmin The Garmin Navigation Patent embodies a lot of the technology we see in our fitness watches today. What's really interesting is that Garmin has always been a leader in technology. Furthermore, we are only seeing these kinds of advancements in companies like Apple or Samsung. However, this also gives us a glimpse of what we could expect in the future from Garmin. Finally, we may see more room for vocal control and assisted coaching in future trainers. For the full patent click here.