Polar Electro

Polar

Type	Private – OY
Industry	Sports instruments
Founded	1977, Kempele, Finland
Founder	Seppo Säynäjäkangas
Headquarters	Kempele, Finland
Products	Heart rate monitors
Number of employees	1,200
Website	www.polar.fi

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.

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 1200 employees worldwide. Polar manufactures a range of heart rate monitoring devices and accessories for athletic training and fitness and also measure heart rate variability.

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. Polar was founded in 1977, and filed its first patent for wireless heart rate measurement three years later. Its founder Seppo Säynäjäkangas was the inventor of the first wireless EKG heart rate monitor. In 1982, Polar launched the first ever wearable wire-free heart rate monitor, the Sport Tester PE 2000.

Since the very beginning Polar has been developing its devices through a rigorous scientific process aiming at for the most accurate and precise measurement possible for devices of this type. To consumers this meant that for quite a long time (when for example comparing against some other manufacturers of heart rate monitors and fitness trackers) Polar did not offer heart rate measurement without a separate chest strap accessory. On the other hand, its devices were recognized for their accuracy and this resulted in Polar devices being frequently used as the preferred devices in various scientific studies as well as being adopted by many universities research departments. In part due to its own history and the affiliation with universities and the scientific community Polar offers a research co-operation program focused on supporting studies in exercise science.

In November 2015 Polar released its first wrist-worn heart rate monitor A360.