Polar Electro

Polar
Private – Oy
Industry Sports instruments
Founded 1977 (1977) in Kempele, Finland
Founder Seppo Säynäjäkangas
Headquarters Kempele, Finland
Area served
 Worldwide
Products Heart rate monitors
Number of employees
 1,200
Website www.polar.com

Polar Electro Oy (globally known as Polar) is a manufacturer of sports training computers, particularly known for developing the world's first wireless heart rate monitor.[1]

The company is based in Kempele, Finland and was founded in 1977. It now has 26 subsidiaries with 12,000 total employees that supply over 35,000 retail outlets in more than 80 countries; the Polar company itself has approximately 1,200 employees worldwide. Polar manufactures a range of heart rate monitoring devices and accessories for athletic training and fitness and also to measure heart rate variability.

History

In 1975, there was no accurate way to record heart rates during training, and the idea of a wireless, portable heart rate monitor was conceived on a cross country skiing track in Finland.[2] Polar was founded in 1977, and filed its first patent for wireless heart rate measurement three years later. Its late founder Seppo Säynäjäkangas (1942–2018) was the inventor of the first wireless EKG heart rate monitor.[3] In 1982, Polar launched the world's first wearable wire-free heart rate monitor, the Sport Tester PE 2000.[4][5][6]

Polar technology and devices are widely used in various scientific studies[7][8] as well as being adopted by many university research departments. In part due to its own history and the affiliation with universities and the scientific community, Polar offers a research co-operation programme focused on supporting studies in exercise science.[9][10]

In November 2015, Polar released its first wrist-based heart rate monitor, the A360.[11][12]

In july 2018, Dutch newspaper De Correspondent revealed that Polar's fitness app shows users on the map, making it possible to find out their real names, profession and home addresses.[13] In a reaction, Polar ended some of the online functionality of sharing routes on the map.

References

  1. ↑ Matt Fitzgerald (18 June 2005). Runner's World The Cutting-Edge Runner: How to Use the Latest Science and Technology to Run Longer, Stronger, and Faster. Rodale. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-1-59486-091-1. The Finnish company Polar Electro, founded in 1977, was the first to sell wireless heart rate monitors for athletes and still dominates this market.
  2. ↑ Michael Czinkota; Ilkka Ronkainen (18 August 2006). International Marketing. Cengage Learning. pp. 310–. ISBN 0-324-31702-6. The origins of the Finnish sports instruments producer Polar Electro can be traced back to the need of cross-country skiing ... By the year 1982, the technology had advanced to the point that the first wireless heart rate monitor was ready.
  3. ↑ Heart rate monitor
  4. ↑ Joe Friel (1 June 2009). Total Heart Rate Training: Customize and Maximize Your Workout Using a Heart Rate Monitor. Ulysses Press. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-1-56975-389-7. Polar introduced the first wireless heart rate monitor using electric field data transfer—the Sport Tester PE 2000. The next year, the company came out with a device containing a computer interface—the Sport Tester ...
  5. ↑ Sally Edwards (1 January 1993). The Heart Rate Monitor Book. Polar CIC. pp. 127–. ISBN 978-0-9634633-0-2. In 1982 Polar Electro Oy introduced the world to the first wireless heart rate monitors. These first generation heart rate monitors (the "PE 2000s") were released onto the market and readily accepted by athletes, particularly at the elite and ...
  6. ↑ Jeroen Scheerder (2009). Vlaanderen loopt! Sociaal-wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar de loopsportmarkt (in Dutch). Academia Press. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-90-382-1484-9. 1982 Polar lanceert de Sport Tester PE2000, de eerste draadloze hartslagmeter
  7. ↑ Individual differences in the responses to endurance and resistance training http://hur.creamailer.fi/assets/uploads/4386b9ed941a611d10cbe3626047fab11214a71d/shared/files/individualdifferences.pdf
  8. ↑ Occupational medicine:Metabolic Rate Prediction in Young and Old Men by Heart Rate, Ambient Temperature, Weight and Body Fat Percentage https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/56/6/56_14-0063-BR/_html Device RS800CX
  9. ↑ Polar's research co-operation guidelines: http://www.polar.com/en/about_polar/who_we_are/research/research_guidelines
  10. ↑ Summary page of Polar research http://www.polar.com/en/about_polar/who_we_are/research
  11. ↑ "Polar A360 Waterproof Fitness Tracker watch".
  12. ↑ "- Polar Global".
  13. ↑ Maurits Martijn (2018-07-09). "This fitness app lets anyone find names and addresses for thousands of soldiers and secret agents". De Correspondent.

Further reading

  • Michael Czinkota; Ilkka Ronkainen (18 August 2006). International Marketing. Cengage Learning. pp. 308–. ISBN 0-324-31702-6.
  • Hicks, Jennifer (February 28, 2016). "Polar: The Original Fitness Tracker And Heart Rate Monitor". Forbes. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  • Hoffman, Michael (December 14, 2009). "Heart-rate monitors help PT flunkers". Military Times.
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