Hykso Boxing Sensors Review: Wearable Technology And Fitness Collide

We’re not going to dwell on this particular Hykso hardware for too long, because the devices are not indicative of the final shipping product that consumer will be able to buy. What you see here are fully-functional prototypes that were used as the development vehicle for the final consumer products are due to arrive in June.

The way the Hykso Punch Tracking Sensors work is fairly straightforward. Inside each of the red, wearable sensors (there are four sensors in this image, plus the charging base) in an F1 grade 3-axis accelerometer, along with a Low-g 3-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis Gyroscope. When secured to your wrist, presumably under wraps or tape, and oriented in the proper direction (point facing forward), the sensors can track all kinds of data as your arms move. The sensors also feature a multi-color LED to indicate battery levels and to identify which hand each sensor should be mounted. These particular sensors are also equipped with a Wi-Fi transceiver, which is how they connect to a mobile device and the companion app, but the final shipping product will connect via Bluetooth.

Using the Hykso Sensors is simple. Once they’re wirelessly connected (by simply pressing a button on the base to bring the sensors out of sleep mode), secure them to your wrist, launch the Hykso app on the mobile device, and select your name and the drill you’d like to perform. When initially setting up the app, you’re asked to enter some basic information about yourself (referred to as the athlete), like your name and boxing stance (conventional or southpaw), along with a description of the drill. Then you start a session, select the preferred number of rounds, and you’re off and running.

The app will display real-time information gathered from the sensors including punch speed, punch counts, the striking intensity, and punch types (jabs, crosses, left / right hooks or uppercuts). The precise time of the punches in milliseconds is also logged to track combos and pacing. Be sure to check out the video on the previous page to see the app in action; some screenshots are also posted on the next page...

The Hykso Punch Tracking Sensors typically take about an hour to charge and offer roughly 4-hours of battery life. Each pair of sensors is meant to connect to a single mobile device (at this time), to track boxing matches, sparring sessions, or workouts in real-time. They are akin to a “FitBit” for boxers, but that’s not exactly right because Hykso doesn’t track heartrates or estimate calories burned, etc. They're focused specifically on punch tracking and motion.