ENGO launches a new Heart Rate Zone (HR Zone) widget for its augmented reality smart glasses, enabling athletes to view real-time effort intensity in their field of vision. Compatible with Garmin devices, it helps reduce distractions and mental fatigue during training. The widget supports personalised heart rate zones and is powered by MICROOLED’s ActiveLook® technology.
ENGO, the French pioneer in lightweight augmented eyewear designed for athletes, introduces a new ‘Heart Rate Zone’ (HR Zone) widget. This innovation enables real-time heart rate zone monitoring within the athlete’s field of vision, eliminating the need to glance at a watch or device during training. The widget is compatible with Garmin devices, with Apple Watch compatibility expected soon.
The HR Zone widget allows athletes to view personalised heart rate zones, from Zone 1 to Zone 5, through their ENGO smart glasses. The dynamic visual display includes a moving cursor to indicate the athlete’s current heart rate zone, supporting better performance regulation during endurance, tempo, or high-intensity workouts.
Reducing mental distractions in training
The new functionality addresses a challenge often faced by endurance athletes, mental fatigue from repeatedly checking performance data on a watch. This behaviour, known as ‘task switching’, leads to cognitive strain and disrupts the state of flow, a key factor in achieving peak performance. Repeatedly switching attention between physical activity and watch data can lower mental performance by up to 40% during a session.
With the HR Zone widget, ENGO offers a hands-free solution to this issue. Athletes no longer need to break concentration to check effort levels, allowing them to stay mentally and physically engaged in their workout.
Eric Marcellin-Dibon, Founder of ENGO, explains:
“Our mission with ENGO and lightweight augmented reality is to deliver essential information that enhances the athlete’s experience and improves performance. The Heart Rate Zone (HR Zone) widget perfectly illustrates this philosophy by leveraging the brain’s natural ability to interpret visual signals instantly and much faster than text. As a result, effort intensity adjustment becomes almost instinctive and requires very little mental effort. Athletes can maintain their focus on their surroundings and technique, preserving that precious state of flow during a workout.”
Technical integration and functionality
The HR Zone widget integrates seamlessly with Garmin devices. No complex setup is required; heart rate data syncs automatically at the start of a session and is displayed directly in the smart glasses. The visual format is designed to be intuitive, making it easier for users to interpret and act on heart rate data in real time.
Key features of the widget include:
- Instant identification of heart rate zone (Z1 to Z5)
- Reduction of heart rate drift during sessions
- Support for effort calibration in various workout types
ENGO Eyewear and ActiveLook® Technology
The new widget strengthens ENGO’s commitment to offering accessible and actionable data to endurance athletes. Powered by ActiveLook® technology, ENGO smart glasses project critical data such as speed, distance, and heart rate into the user’s line of sight. This real-time access enhances situational awareness and supports improved training outcomes.
ENGO glasses weigh only 36 grams and offer up to 12 hours of battery life. The display is engineered for clarity in a range of lighting conditions, allowing athletes to remain focused on their route without the distraction of traditional devices.
Two versions of the ENGO 2 glasses are currently available:
- ENGO 2 Photochromic – €349.95, available at: https://engoeyewear.com/pages/photochromic
- ENGO 2 (Non-Photochromic) – €299.95, available at: https://engoeyewear.com/products/engo-2
About ENGO Eyewear
ENGO Eyewear focuses on creating augmented reality eyewear that enables endurance athletes to improve performance through smarter data visualisation. The company aims to support athletes in reaching personal goals by offering practical, real-time insights into their performance metrics.
About MICROOLED
MICROOLED, based in Grenoble, designs and manufactures OLED micro-displays for near-eye applications including augmented reality glasses, medical devices, and night vision gear. As the technology provider behind ENGO’s ActiveLook® platform, MICROOLED is a leading European player in the micro-display market. The company is expanding into the sports technology sector through its “Light AR” solutions.
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