Incorporated in October 1978, Heart Rate Inc. had the foresight to know that heart rate could be a valuable tool to gauge the intensity of exercise for beginning exercisers up to elite athletes. In 1980, the company completed the design and a functional prototype of a heart rate wristwatch and then was awarded an exclusive patent to further develop the capacitive electrode used in the NASA space program. This sensor was designed to acquire high-quality ECG signals during space flights. Unfortunately, at that time, many wristwatch, medical and sports equipment companies were not convinced that heart rate monitoring promised to be a viable business, so they declined to provide funding. Faced with a lack of financial backing, Dick Charnitski, the president of Heart Rate Inc. and a mechanical engineer, then turned his attention to developing the first, patented total-body exercise machine. The birth of total-body cardio exercise.