Pavlok is a habit-forming wearable that will shock you

[Dietrichw]

Source

 

 

 

"Wake up sleepy head... it's time to go to the gym." "Put down those chips!" "Stop wasting time on Facebook." If any of the above statements resonate with you, then you're not alone. Maneesh Sethi, author and Stanford alumnus has said all of the above to himself at one point, and wanted to know why. Why, despite knowing the right thing to do, he kept making the wrong choices. His solution wasn't to buy a book, splash out on a personal trainer or go to a professional. Instead, Sethi investigated how humans behave; how they form habits. His research led him to invent Pavlok -- a $250 wearable he's launching later this year. One that will, literally, shock you.

 

Sethi explains how Pavlok works with a simple example -- the habit of waking earlier. "It sits on my wrist and at 6am it'll vibrate. I can snooze it, but if I snooze it twice, it shocks me." Essentially, it's a wristband that electrocutes you into submission action. 

 

It may sound draconian, but Sethi is serious about it, so much so he plans to launch Pavlok via crowdfunding in fall, and sell to a willing public by early 2015.

 

Pavlok isn't just about zapping you every time you skip the gym, there's a social element. By teaming up with a partner, you're forced to become more accountable to someone else, which Sethi's research suggests will make achieving them more likely. Through an app or Facebook, your buddy can see if you did your bit. In a fitness scenario, this could be whether you clocked up 10,000 steps, had a GPS pin at the gym, or logged a jog with Runkeeper. Fail to complete one of those three, and your friend gets to push the buzz-button.

ohhh..... I would not trust my friends with the buzz button

 

Although it would be funny to see Luke and Linus abuse this as a "review"

[Askew]

lol things that go around your wrist are supposed to overlap wtf is that design

[BonBon Scott]

I prefer the one that fires electrons into your brain to improve your reaction time.

[Fred Castellum]

lol things that go around your wrist are supposed to overlap wtf is that design

Agreed... what a funky design for the device.... 

 

 

I prefer the one that fires electrons into your brain to improve your reaction time.

I don't know.... would that actually be beneficial? 

[Marvzl1357]

Although it would be funny to see Luke and Linus abuse this as a "review"

YES!

@LinusTech you better see this

[Misanthrope]

lol things that go around your wrist are supposed to overlap wtf is that design

 

It's a (not very clever) attempt to fit the pc stuff while making seem like it's a thin wristband.

[MehRepublic]

y cant we have rabbit  

[samcool55]

Why... What's wrong with vibrating? It doesn't hurt and you feel it to.

[Juantaguan]

Why... What's wrong with vibrating? It doesn't hurt and you feel it to.

 

Because vibration isn't a negative stimulus besides annoyance. Giving an electrical shock however is negative, it hurts and will encourage you to not do the action that caused said shock again.

[Buckley]

I should really invest in this tbh

[Mitrailleuse]

sounds good,but i rather spend 250$ on other stuff.

[StingBull]

Electric shocks eh. Kinky... I can imagine people putting this on their... other organs.

[Juantaguan]

sounds good,but i rather spend 250$ on other stuff.

 

I totally agree. 250$ for a bracelet to shock your friends is ridiculous.

[flibberdipper]

I can see people using this in the wrong way to get... uhh... sexually excited?

[Mitrailleuse]

I can see people using this in the wrong way to get... uhh... sexually excited?

pls do you even