Championed by boxers as a fitness tool and the toy of choice for many school children, the humble skip rope has many uses and it has just been given "smart" status here at Mobile World Congress.

This is the Smart Rope, the first product by Tangram. The product is currently looking for funding via a Kickstarter campaign. 

So how does it work?

Tangram say the tackle the basic jump ropes fundamental values and empower a workout with technology and smart data. 

With each jump, Smart Rope displays the user's jump data before their eyes - making the workout experience completely immersive.  

There is no shortage of wearable fitness devices on the market, but Tangram say they are passive monitoring devices while their rope is an active fitness device. 

Here are the factors that Smart Rope monitor (from their Kickstarter page): 

Counting: It’s simple enough to track how long you’ve been jumping, and it’s a good start. But everyone jumps at a different pace, and you can be sure that an elite boxer is going to be jumping a lot faster than someone just starting out. Keeping an accurate count of your jumps is important, but it’s very difficult when you’re counting into the hundreds and thousands - especially when you’re concentrating on a strenuous workout. Smart Rope displays an accurate count at all times and keeps track of each workout with your smartphone. 

Calories: Burning fat and building muscle is central to many workouts. By entering your height and weight into the smartphone app, Smart Rope calculates your calories burned, using your BMI (body mass index) and jumps counted. In calorie mode, you’ll see how many calories you’re burning with each jump. 

Interval Training: We all know how helpful it can be to encourage each other while we’re working out. Based on your BMI and jump rope ability, Smart Rope will provide you with goals and interval training recommendations. Our initial release will allow you to easily post your progress on Facebook, as well as challenge your other Smart Rope friends to workout goals. We’ll be baking more social integration into Smart Rope with future software releases.

Follow our coverage of Mobile World Congress here.