ANT+

ANT+ (sometimes ANT + or ANT Plus) is an interoperability function that can be added to the base ANT protocol (a proprietary wireless sensor network technology).^[1] It is targeted at manufacturers of "bike computers diagnostics, power meters, heart rate monitors etc."^[1] and promoted by the ANT+ Alliance.^[2]

Applications

ANT+ is primarily designed for collection and transfer of sensor data, to manageable units of various types. The three main areas of operation are sport, wellness and home health. It can be used for data-transfer for a number of devices:^[3][4][5]

• heart rate monitors
• speed sensors
• cadence sensors
• foot pods
• power meters
• activity monitors
• calorimeters
• body mass index measuring devices
• blood pressure monitors
• blood glucose meters
• pulse oximeters
• positions tracking
• short range homing beacons (Disc Golf, GeoCaching)^[6]
• weight measuring devices^a
• control of music players^a
• temperature sensors^a

^a = not in order of release yet

This allows for it to be used for general fitness tasks as well as medical functions. Currently the ANT+ is implemented on more than 35 applications, produced by 27 different manufacturers.^[7]

ANT+ Alliance

The ANT+ Alliance is organized by Dynastream Innovations Inc, a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd.. As of September 30, 2010 it had more than 300 members,^[8] including Adidas AG, Concept2, Garmin, McLaren, Microsoft, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments, Timex and Trek.

References