Recent patents reveal new safety tech that could possibly be included with an upcoming rerelease of the Peloton Tread+. Discovered by Bob Treemore, two new treadmill safety patents have been filed by Peloton’s primary manufacturer, Rexon, in Taiwan.
A child was killed by the Peloton Tread+ last year along with over 70 other incidents reported by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pressure from the CPSC eventually pushed Peloton to voluntarily recalling the Tread+ until they could fix its safety issues.
These new safety patents look to do just that.
One of the two treadmill safety patents utilizes the camera on the touchscreen to actively measure the height of the user. This can be used:
- to ensure that the treadmill user is of the appropriate height before allowing the treadmill to be turned on.
- to turn automatically turn off the treadmill if the camera detects the user has fallen off.
The other patent filed is for an emitter (like a laser or radar) on the rear underside of treadmill. This would allow the treadmill to detect if a kid or small animal (or anything else) was near the back end of the treadmill.
Connect The Watts’ Take
The filing and timing of this patents to be for the Peloton Tread+ makes sense for several reasons.
With Peloton’s recent announcement to eliminate all of their own manufacturing, Rexon may have made a deal to have part or full patent ownership, so having these patents come out of Taiwan does not seem unusual.
The two safety patents filed would seem to solve the safety issues of the Peloton Tread+ without having to change the design. The camera is already included on the touchscreen tablet, and the only addition would be the emitter placed on the underside of the treadmill.
Finally, the timing adds up. When recalled, Peloton announced that owners of the Peloton Tread+ would have until October of 2022 to return it for a full refund,so it was unlikely Peloton would release a fix until after that date.
Now that the date is just a few months away, Peloton could potentially be looking to rerelease the Tread+ for the holidays or in early 2023.
Let us know what you think, and keep checking back with Connect The Watts for the latest information.
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