Main points
- Oura Labs allows users to test experimental features, provide feedback, and participate in research.
- Symptom Radar is the first experimental feature available.
- The Symptom Radar feature monitors body signals for changes that may affect your health and prompts you to activate rest mode if needed.
Oura is no stranger to pushing boundaries and testing new features that might benefit users. Now, the smart ring company has announced the launch of Oura Labs, a new in-app platform that provides additional resources to users wearing Oura rings.
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Oura Labs said in its press release that you will be able to “choose to test experimental features, provide feedback, and participate in discussions.” As of now, the platform is essentially a way for Oura to test new features, and you can turn on notifications for new features. In addition, Oura members can choose to participate in research conducted by Oura’s internal teams and in collaboration with partner organizations and academic institutions.
Source: Oura
Enter Symptom Radar
The first feature available for testing from Oura Labs is a symptom radar. While not a diagnostic tool, as this requires FDA approval, it can help you understand your body’s signals and what changes in your body may mean. Symptom Radar relies on the ring’s sensors and your biometric signals to monitor them for changes and trends that could put additional stress on your body. Factors it monitors include body temperature range, respiratory rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability.
If the app detects a change, whether it’s illness, an intense workout, or a few nights of bad sleep, you can choose to enter rest mode. Rest mode pauses activity goals, scores, and associated contributors, so you’re not pestered to get up and get moving or feel disappointed when you didn’t meet your goals. The readiness score then highlights recovery metrics when rest mode is on. Alternatively, you can lower your daily activity goal if you still want to get in some exercise.
The new feature follows a recent paper published by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, San Diego. The paper evaluates whether consumer wearable devices can detect the onset of infectious diseases, specifically those that cause fever. Interestingly, last fall I had a high fever after getting my COVID vaccine booster shot. The bell rang and prompted me to turn on rest mode, and that was before the symptom radar was announced.
Source: Oura
While Symptom Radar is Oura Labs’ only feature right now, we anticipate a lot of exciting things to come. However, this may also mean that the symptom radar will disappear at some point, so don’t pay too much attention to this experimental feature. Oura Labs “aims to accelerate innovation by engaging members in the research and development process,” Oura said. As I learned from my conversation with Dr. Gotlieb, Oura’s product manager for women’s health, user feedback is critical to the features Oura focuses on, and that seems very clear with this new rollout.
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Holly Shelton said: “At Oura, our product roadmap is built on the valuable input and requests of our members, and we’re excited to be able to further our collaboration by providing a direct way to contribute to the research and development of new features. community integration.” , Chief Product Officer of Oura. “At the same time, we will harness the power of citizen science through various research recruitment opportunities supported by Oura to realize the full potential of wearable technology as a public health solution.”