Biofeedback, Wearables, and Fitness Video Games

Acculation

11 years ago

This article was originally published by Acculation on another site.

As we’ve discussed earlier, one of the reason “sensor laden devices” like smartphones, smartwatches, and the emerging Internet of Things category are so amazing is that all of their uses haven’t yet been invented. There are so many sensors jam-packed into these devices, that software developers are constantly figuring out how to come with novel ways to use these sensors together in newly invented ways. It’s a combination of a large number of sensors jammed into a small space, combined with powerful computers and innovative software that is bringing us into the future. Fitness video games are just one aspect of this wearables revolution.

Treating Stress and Pulmonary Disease with Heart Rate Variability Feedback: StressEraser and … Nintendo?

Around 2008 one of our team members bought a product called the StressEraser. (It was quite expensive then; it has since fallen to around $130.) The device appears to combine an oximeter pulse sensor with a small computer and simple LCD screen. Technically classified as a “Heart Rate Variability Feedback Device”, the onboard computer has algorithm that measure your heart rates’ variability, and gives you signals on when to breath to induce relaxation. Relaxation through breathing is an ancient art, and you can think of this device as your electronic yogi master. The device works — the device is an FDA approved medical device and there are clinical references to its use in treating pulmonary disease.

Here’s where this gets interesting. Nintendo, no stranger to biofeedback mechanisms in video games, considered supporting a similar device, called the Vitality Sensor, for the Wii. One of many applications they must have had in mind would be a yoga breathing/relaxation game for their hit Wii Fit title. Another thing they could have done is come up with an inexpensive video game title that would have replaced the much more expensive Stress Eraser. As this article relates, Nintendo eventually abandoned the idea.

Inexpensive Pulse Oximeters and Future Smartwatch Apps

However, other Wii titles already have similar technology. EA Sports Active 2, one of our favorite workout games (for Wii, Playstation 2 & Xbox), includes an inexpensive pulse oximeter and accelerometer combo (some versions of the video game retail for under $20, including the two sensors). The pulse oximeter lets the fitness game dynamically adjust its workout, as well as giving the user feedback on their heart zone. Heart rate stats are displayed graphically after a workout, and can be uploaded to the user’s profile on an EA social network. (See this article on external blog Physiological Computing for more on biofeedback sensors in video games.). Some smartwatch-like devices, like they BodyMedia Fit, already monitor pulse rates, and, given the fact that it can be done cheaply for video games, we’d expect eventually every smartwatch to have this kind of capability.

In addition to making a great fitness or relaxation video game input, and clinical applications in treating pulmonary disease, inexpensive pulse oximeter devices have potential applications in medical apps. A number of iPhone apps claim to be able to use the phone’s flash and camera together to measure pulse rate. (The user holds their finger over both the flash and camera, and the camera supposedly can measure the pulse using light from flash.) Another app claims to be able to estimate pulse using the iPhones camera to measure subtle changes in flesh tones. These apps are controversial, and there is a lot of skepticism as to whether or not they are accurate. (However, we have heard one anecdotal account of one such app being used on an airplane during a medical emergency.)The apps might not work or be accurate enough today, but eventually, as these iPhone techniques improve, or additional sensors get added to smartphones, someday your smartphone will be able to accurately measure your pulse rate. That means there’ll be an app that replaces the StressEraser, another workout app that adjusts in a manner similar to EA Sports Active 2, and yet another app that can send your pulse rate over to a remote doctor to assist in a telemedicine diagnosis. And eventually those capabilities will make it into your future smartwatch as it gradually replaces your smartphone.

“Sensor Laden Devices”: A future $300 Billion market?

The complete category of these devices (small wearable devices like EA Sports Active 2’s sensors, your smartphone, and eventually your smartwatch) are grouped together as “Sensor Ladden Devices” by Forrester and are thought to be one of the most disruptive technologies of the next decade. They estimate the future market at $300 Billion, a staggering figure that surprises even some seasoned tech investors.

One of the reasons “sensor ladden devices” are potentially so disruptive is that, by combining many portable sensors together on a small “wearable” computer, entirely new applications can be invented. It’s not just the phone’s camera, or camera and flash, to measure heart rate (and then have the smartwatch’s computer run a relaxation biofeedback or medical diagnosis app), but truly unexpected applications can arise. One of the more interesting examples of this is the reprogramming of smartphone’s GPS sensors to detect hurricane wind speeds by measuring scattered GPS signals.. This potentially replaces much more expensive single-use devices that previously had to be dropped into the ocean for $750 a measurement. We would expect similar innovations in the health & fitness arena, and we’re already seeing some.Obviously, one of the areas we’re most excited about is new ways of getting more accurate information to first responders. There are number of ways medical tag technology can be modernized beyond combining them with a cool watch, and we’re excited about what the future holds.

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This article was originally published by Acculation on another site.

Treating Stress and Pulmonary Disease with Heart Rate Variability Feedback: StressEraser and … Nintendo?

Inexpensive Pulse Oximeters and Future Smartwatch Apps

“Sensor Laden Devices”: A future $300 Billion market?

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Next steps: Check out our YouTube channel for more great info, including our popular "Data Science Careers, or how to make 6-figures on Wall Street" video (click here)!