Jason Bradbury is best known for being the bespectacled tech whizz on the hugely popular TV programme The Gadget Show. Some of his own whacky inventions include a DIY hoverboard, the world’s first ‘phone glove’ and a hovercraft built from a car wheel and a fan.
We had a brief chat with the gadget guru – ahead of The Gadget Show Live event in Birmingham at the end of the month – to talk running tech and the future of fitness wearables…
What’s the most exciting running tech on the market at the moment?
Recon Jet glasses get me excited. The idea is amazing; the reality inevitably falls slightly short of perfection, mainly because it only has a two-hour battery life, but the balls they had to put together the device is impressive.
Where next for running tech development?
A lot of wearables focus on navigation, but the reality is that most people don’t need it. Most people who wear GPS watches are training for 5-10K – they don’t need to know where they are. I think a far more useful development would be in the form of augmented reality.
Can you elaborate?
Well, where VR [virtual reality] creates an alternative world, AR adds to our surroundings. Let’s face it, when it’s cold and dark and you’re running round the edge of a park, it’s boring! So something that adds to the environment – mile markers or graphics and so on – can only be a good thing.
Does all this tech detract from the pure joy of running?
No! Data is motivation, and if tech encourages people to keep fit, that’s brilliant.
The Gadget Show Live, 31st March – 3rd April 2016, www.gadgetshowlive.net
