tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/wearable-technology-85786/articlesWearable technology – The Conversation2024-03-13T12:28:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254652024-03-13T12:28:21Z2024-03-13T12:28:21ZWhat we know so far about the rumoured Apple smart ring<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581294/original/file-20240312-18-nq5gb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3858%2C2583&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A generic image of a smart ring in use.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/modern-payment-new-technology-payments-using-691766359">Fotos593 / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Samsung officially announced the launch of a new smart ring-shaped wearable device, Galaxy Ring, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7x0E0hLaJ8">part of its Galaxy Unpacked event</a> earlier this year. The ring, expected to be on sale in late summer 2024, will be able to monitor the user’s health parameters and provide insights based on the health metrics observed, which is very similar to what a smartwatch can do.</p>
<p>The global smart ring <a href="https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/34772/smart-ring-market/">market is expected to grow</a> from USD$314.52 billion (£246.3 billion) in 2023 to USD$2,570.30 billion (£2,012 billion) by 2030. So it is no surprise that Apple is now rumoured to be <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2024/02/27/apple-developing-ring-to-beat-samsung-galaxy-ring-report-claims/?sh=53a35fbd4e2c">applying for its smart ring patents</a> and is expected to have the product ready in time to compete with Samsung’s release.</p>
<p>But it might be surprising to learn that neither Samsung nor Apple are pioneers in this new wearable technology. <a href="https://ouraring.com/">Oura was launched in 2015</a> with a Kickstarter campaign for the first generation ring.</p>
<p>Now on its third generation, with the fourth one expected in 2024, this smart ring can measure respiratory rate, heart rate, health rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen levels, and body temperature. The ring also has an accelerator that logs the user’s activity and movement. However, the main question is: is wearable technology worth it?</p>
<h2>What is wearable technology?</h2>
<p>Wearable devices come in many shapes and sizes, including smart watches and sports watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays, smart jewellery, smart clothing, and even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9185336/">implantable devices</a>.</p>
<p>Technological advances have enabled manufacturers to access low-cost, low-power sensor technology and develop this variety of devices. At a minimum, wearable devices are equipped with sensors, software and connecting technology.</p>
<p>The sensors gather information from the person wearing the device, and the software gathers the data and sends it to a device with processing capacity via a wireless connection. The ecosystem on which wearable technology works is <a href="https://www.oracle.com/uk/internet-of-things/what-is-iot/">known as the Internet of Things (IoT)</a>. It is the same principle as smart technology used at home, on devices such as thermostats that can be operated from a mobile device outside the home, or smart speakers, but applied at a personal level. It is important to note that mobile devices do not process the data; it is usually sent to “the cloud” for processing, and the mobile device displays the data to the user.</p>
<p>What makes an IoT solution even more attractive is the interpretation of the data gathered by the sensors. For example, the <a href="https://ouraring.com/oura-experience">Oura Ring and the Oura Membership</a> allow users to monitor their sleep, manage stress and predict when they might get sick by monitoring body temperature and heart rate. This is all possible due to analysis of the data collected by the ring. </p>
<p>With advances in artificial intelligence (AI), it is expected that in 2024, there will be a <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/what-to-expect-from-smartwatches-in-2024-more-ai-new-health-features-and-more/">boost in health tracking</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Smart watch and smart phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Smart rings are unlikely to replicate the functionality of smart watches and other devices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/data-synchronization-health-book-between-smartwatch-188507768">Alexey Boldin</a></span>
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<h2>Benefits and drawbacks</h2>
<p>Smart rings come with sensors similar to those of a smartwatch. However, because of their proximity to large blood vessels in the fingers, smart rings can provide more accurate readings than smartwatches, because they can use the capillaries (small blood vessels) in your finger to get their readings. Another advantage of smart rings is that they have a longer battery life than smartwatches. However, smart rings are unlikely to come with GPS or a screen.</p>
<p>In terms of price, the cheapest version of the Oura ring starts at £299 and users must pay a membership fee of £5.99 per month, with the first month free. This is required to get all the benefits of data analysis. However, the ring will still work with the Oura mobile app. The most affordable version of the AppleWatch, the SE version, starts at £219, while the Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Bluetooth starts at £239.</p>
<p>Smart rings can’t and won’t be able to replicate the functionality offered by a smartwatch. However, they represent an attractive choice for users interested in health tracking, who also want a simple device with minimalistic features. <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsungs-surprise-galaxy-ring-whos-the-wearable-actually-for/">Bryan Ma</a>, the Vice President of devices research at International Data Corporation, has said: “The idea behind such rings is not so much about being cheaper than smartwatches, but instead being a much smaller and discrete device for use in cases like sleep tracking.”</p>
<h2>The future of wearable technology?</h2>
<p>Wearable technology will continue evolving, with a strong focus on health monitoring. For example, Microsoft has been <a href="https://duoskin.media.mit.edu/">exploring smart tattoos</a> as the next generation of wearable tech since 2016. However, due to the labour intensive fabrication technique for gold leaf, which is used in the tattoos, researchers are now focusing on more robust, advanced, and inexpensive materials.</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Washington have also <a href="https://www.washington.edu/news/2024/02/07/smart-earrings-can-monitor-temperature/">developed the thermal earring</a>. This was able to measure the user’s earlobe temperature but shows promise for other areas of monitoring, including for eating and exercise. Although not commercially available, this device demonstrates how engineers are developing new ideas for wearable devices.</p>
<p>Under Armour already sells <a href="https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/t/connected-shoes-page.html">running shoes embedded with Bluetooth and sensors</a> that track run statistics such as distance and pace. The shoes also measure running from metrics such as cadence (steps per minute), ground contact time, foot strike angle and stride length. </p>
<p>The app provides real time audio coaching, but only focuses on cadence. In future, we can expect to see advances in <a href="https://www.feelgoodcontacts.com/blog/smart-contact-lenses-of-the-future">smart contact lenses</a>, <a href="https://shop.jakcom.com/products/jakcom-n3-smart-nail-chip">smart nails</a>, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Nordic-news/2018/02/beam-smart-button">smart buttons</a>, and many more.</p>
<h2>Is wearable technology worth it?</h2>
<p>The expected increase in the market size of this technology shows users’ interest in monitoring their health and improving their lifestyle. Developments in the Internet of Things, in general, have improved our way of life and supported our wellbeing.</p>
<p>Connected devices collect, track, and store user data, which is the primary purpose of the technology. What users need to know is that many wearable devices share data with third party apps and services, and it is often unclear how this data is being used. The data can be sold to other companies or utilised for different purposes without the user’s knowledge or consent. Moreover, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/08/theres-a-hack-for-that-fitbit-user-accounts-attacked.html">wearable devices can be hacked</a>.</p>
<p>With this in mind, and as we have done with all new technology, users must consider the advantages of wearable technology and determine if the risks are worth taking. If security and data privacy are a concern, users are encouraged to follow all security recommendations provided by experts and manufacturers to protect their devices and research more on how their data is used and shared.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Sanchez-Velazquez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What are the benefits and drawbacks of putting smart technology into a ring?Erika Sanchez-Velazquez, Deputy Head of School, Computing and Information Science, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1948982022-12-26T20:52:15Z2022-12-26T20:52:15ZHeart rate variability – what to know about this biometric most fitness trackers measure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500755/original/file-20221213-14408-pvtw3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1047%2C901%2C6039%2C3884&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An increase in this particular biometric is a good thing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-man-using-smartwatch-in-bed-royalty-free-image/1371086366">visualspace/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Your heart beats <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/heart/heartfacts.html">around 100,000 times every day</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/tracking-your-heart-rate-5-questions-answered-about-what-that-number-really-means-124066">Heart rate</a> is a key marker of cardiovascular activity and an important vital sign. But your pulse is not as steady as a precision clock – nor would you want it to be.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=uXcM0scAAAAJ">As a cardiovascular physiologist</a>, I measure heart rate in nearly every experiment my students and I perform. Sometimes we use an <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/electrocardiogram/">electrocardiogram</a>, such as you’d see in a medical clinic, which uses sticky electrodes to measure electrical signals between two points of your body. Other times we use a chest strap monitor, like ones you might see on someone at the gym, which also detects heartbeats based on electrical activity.</p>
<p>As wearable technology has grown more popular, it’s not just researchers and cardiologists who are paying attention to heart rate. You might be monitoring your own all day long via a fitness tracker you wear on your wrist. This kind of wearable device <a href="https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1565.htm">uses green light to detect blood flow</a> beneath your skin and deduces your heart rate.</p>
<p>Here are what heart rate and other measurements derived from this biometric can tell you about your body’s health.</p>
<h2>Pumping blood where it needs to go</h2>
<p>The heart’s primary job is to contract and generate pressure that helps pump blood to the lungs to be oxygenated and then on to the rest of the body to deliver oxygen and other nutrients. Heart rate is simply how fast your heart is beating. Sometimes called a pulse rate, it’s normally presented in beats per minute. You can <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/want-to-check-your-heart-rate-heres-how">count your own heart rate</a> by feeling for your pulse inside your wrist or behind your jaw. </p>
<p>When your body demands more oxygen, such as during exercise, heart rate will increase along with the increasing workloads.</p>
<p>While many people are familiar with tracking their heart rate during exertion, the heart rate at rest can also provide valuable information. The two parts of the <a href="https://www.webmd.com/heart/what-is-heart-rate-variability">autonomic nervous system</a>, the sympathetic and parasympathetic, influence resting heart rate. The sympathetic branch helps coordinate your body’s stress response. The more active it is, the higher it dials up your heart rate, preparing you for fight or flight. </p>
<p>The parasympathetic branch of your nervous system is responsible for keeping lots of your body’s functions running smoothly while you’re at ease. Via the vagus nerve that runs from the brain all the way to the abdomen, the parasympathetic nervous system actively slows the heart down to resting values between <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/the-facts-about-high-blood-pressure/all-about-heart-rate-pulse">60 and 100 beats</a> per minute for the average healthy adult. Without any parasympathetic activity putting the brakes on the sympathetic nervous system’s signals, your heart would beat at approximately 100 beats per minute. </p>
<p>A lower resting heart rate indicates an efficient heart and a higher level of parasympathetic activity. When you’re at rest your nervous system is ideally minimizing sympathetic activity, so you’re conserving energy and avoiding unnecessary stress to the body.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="chart of red peaks of a heartbeat at slightly different intervals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=274&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500523/original/file-20221212-119183-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The chart of a heart rate reveals tiny differences in spacing between the peaks representing heartbeats.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">YitzhakNat via Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>Time between each heartbeat</h2>
<p>One specific way to understand the balance of the nervous system’s influence on heart rate is to look at <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21773-heart-rate-variability-hrv#:%7E:text=Heart%20rate%20variability%20is%20where,issues%20like%20anxiety%20and%20depression.">heart rate variability</a>, or HRV – the slight fluctuation in the time between each heartbeat. Even if your heart rate is 60 beats a minute, that doesn’t mean your heart is pumping exactly once every second.</p>
<p>Less variability is a sign that your body is under greater stress and that the balance in your autonomic nervous system is tipping toward the sympathetic branch being in charge. Greater variability suggests you’re more relaxed and your parasympathetic nervous system is in control. </p>
<p>For nearly 30 years, scientists have been interested in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.93.5.1043">how to measure and interpret HRV</a>, specifically as it relates to this balance of autonomic control.</p>
<p>The clinical utility of HRV emerged in patients following cardiac events, but researchers are now considering how this measure can help explain patient outcomes in a range of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2147/VHRM.S279322">cardiac</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195166">endocrine</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.04.071">psychiatric</a> disorders.</p>
<p>More recently, researchers have investigated <a href="https://doi.org/10.15420/aer.2018.27.2">how to use HRV</a> in <a href="https://doi.org/10.15420/aer.2018.30.2">athletic training and prognosis of medical conditions</a>.</p>
<p>Several fitness wearables also report <a href="https://support.whoop.com/WHOOP_Data/Recovery__HRV/What_is_Heart_Rate_Variability_(HRV)%3F">heart rate variability</a>, either as a <a href="https://support.ouraring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025441974-An-Introduction-to-Heart-Rate-Variability#:%7E:text=How%20Oura%20Measures%20HRV,samples%20measured%20while%20you%20sleep.">stand-alone metric</a> or used in the calculation of “readiness” or “recovery” scores. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1864-9726">Endurance athletes now commonly track HRV</a> as one way to monitor their overall physiological state.</p>
<p>Researchers have started checking which <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/s22166317">commercially available wearable devices are most reliable and accurate</a> at measuring HRV, which can vary from tracker to tracker. Many of these devices use colored lights, or optical sensors, to measure pulse rate and other variables at the wrist or finger. Unfortunately, the <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2019/07/24/fitbit-accuracy-dark-skin/">accuracy of this method can vary based on skin type and skin color</a>. It is important that companies include diverse populations in the design, testing and validation of these products to help address potential racial health disparities.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="woman doing standing pose on yoga mat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500758/original/file-20221213-19390-g5huck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Another health benefit of stress-busting activities can be an increase in heart rate variability.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-standing-on-yoga-mat-in-warrior-pose-while-royalty-free-image/1397801043">David Espejo/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Nudging HRV in a good direction</h2>
<p>One of the biggest influences on heart rate variability is stress; along with increased sympathetic nervous system activity, stress is associated with lower HRV. Stress-reducing interventions, <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/13354-biofeedback">biofeedback</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0828-282x(10)70395-0">increased fitness</a> can increase heart rate variability. Remember, an increase is good for this metric. Overall, <a href="https://www.webmd.com/heart/what-is-heart-rate-variability#091e9c5e82171840-2-4">heart rate variability depends on</a> a range of physiological, psychological, environmental, lifestyle and nonmodifiable genetic <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258">factors</a>.</p>
<p>The most useful way to consider heart rate variability as a metric is to look at data trends. Are there consistent changes in HRV in either direction? Examine these changes alongside other health factors such as fitness, mood, illness, sleep and dietary intake to see if you can draw any conclusions about lifestyle modifications you may want to make.</p>
<p>In general, the <a href="https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/tools/heart-rate-variability-and-arrhythmias.asp">same approaches</a> you would take to lowering resting heart rate can also improve heart rate variability, such as increasing cardiovascular fitness, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing stress and getting sufficient sleep.</p>
<p>It’s important to remember that heart rate variability is the normal, healthy, very slight fluctuation of timing of heartbeats – just milliseconds of difference from beat to beat. More dramatic changes in heart rhythms or the way in which the heart contracts, known as <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-arrhythmia/symptoms-causes/syc-20350668">arrhythmias</a>, may signal a more serious condition that requires medical attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194898/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne R. Crecelius does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tiny fluctuations in the time between each beat of your heart can provide clues about how much stress your body is experiencing.Anne R. Crecelius, Associate Professor of Health and Sport Science, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1814792022-10-03T12:10:14Z2022-10-03T12:10:14ZSmartwatches could help detect and track COVID – here’s what the research shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485333/original/file-20220919-791-4v15g9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5722%2C3806&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sport-asian-man-looking-smart-watch-2095375672">voronaman/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wearable technologies such as smartwatches and activity trackers have attracted lots of interest over the past few years around their potential to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25879838/">monitor our health</a>.</p>
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<p>During the pandemic, attention has turned to whether these wearable devices could <a href="https://theconversation.com/wearable-fitness-devices-deliver-early-warning-of-possible-covid-19-infection-143388">detect physiological changes</a> that might indicate a COVID infection. This in turn could help with early isolation and testing, reducing the spread of the virus.</p>
<p>So what does the evidence say? Could these technologies be an effective tool to help navigate the pandemic? Let’s take a look.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/i-have-covid-symptoms-should-i-do-a-test-186368?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">I have COVID symptoms. Should I do a test?</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/online-dating-fatigue-why-some-people-are-turning-to-face-to-face-apps-first-184910?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Online dating fatigue – why some people are turning to face-to-face apps first</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-you-can-design-social-media-posts-to-combat-health-misinformation-184627?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Four ways you can design social media posts to combat health misinformation</a></em></p>
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<p>An elevated respiratory rate, or breathing rate, has been shown to be <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-020-00363-7">a useful biomarker</a> for the early detection of COVID. Respiratory rates can be estimated using a method called photoplethysmography which requires only a single point of contact (for example, your finger or wrist). </p>
<p>Photoplethysmography is <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/11/4/126">often susceptible</a> to external factors such as ambient light, pressure or motion. So most studies seeking to use this method to detect COVID have focused on monitoring people during sleep. </p>
<p>Electronics company Fitbit analysed the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-021-00493-6">nocturnal respiratory rates</a> of thousands of users of their devices to understand whether this measure could aid COVID detection. They found that within a seven-day period (from one day before symptom onset, or one day before a positive test for participants without symptoms), a portion of people with COVID showed at least one measurement of elevated respiratory rate. </p>
<p>Although this was detected in only roughly one-third of symptomatic COVID sufferers, and one-quarter of asymptomatic patients, this study suggests that commercial wearables could potentially be a non-invasive way to detect possible COVID infections and get them tested. </p>
<p>Another study looked at the potential of a fitness tracker by US brand WHOOP to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0243693">predict COVID risk</a>. Data on respiratory rate and other indicators of heart function from a group of people with COVID was used to train an algorithm to predict infection.</p>
<p>The model was then tested on a separate group of people, some with COVID, and others without COVID, but with similar symptoms. Based on respiratory rate during sleep, the technology was able to identify 20% of COVID-positive cases in the two days before symptom onset, and 80% of cases by the third day of symptoms. </p>
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<img alt="A young woman using her smartwatch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485337/original/file-20220919-3936-p8uh5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485337/original/file-20220919-3936-p8uh5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485337/original/file-20220919-3936-p8uh5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485337/original/file-20220919-3936-p8uh5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485337/original/file-20220919-3936-p8uh5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485337/original/file-20220919-3936-p8uh5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485337/original/file-20220919-3936-p8uh5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Could your smartwatch one day tell you if you have COVID?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/croped-image-sunny-day-woman-sportswear-565596970">Foxy burrow/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/6/e058274">recent study</a> found that a fertility tracker called Ava, also worn around the wrist, could identify physiological changes up to two days before COVID symptoms appeared. The device measures signals including breathing rate, heart rate, skin temperature and blood flow, as well as sleep quantity and quality.</p>
<p>Data from COVID-positive patients was similarly used to inform a machine-learning algorithm. Testing revealed it was able to pick up 68% of positive cases up to two days before symptoms became obvious.</p>
<h2>Other forms of digital detection</h2>
<p>In addition to wearables, digital technologies might also be used in other ways to detect COVID. High-quality microphones are already embedded in smartphones and other gadgets, paving the way for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7836626/">audio analytics</a>. </p>
<p>COVID usually affects the upper respiratory tract and vocal cords, leading to changes in a person’s voice. A mobile phone app trained on hundreds of audio samples from people with and without COVID has been shown to accurately detect whether a person has the virus <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/963516">89% of the time</a>. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I have developed an app that aims to detect <a href="http://repository.essex.ac.uk/29453/1/manuscript_preprint_280421.pdf">whether you might have COVID</a> by the sound of your cough. The technology is currently under study.</p>
<h2>Tracking illness</h2>
<p>Research has also explored the potential for smart technologies and wearable devices to monitor people during a COVID infection. For example, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34559832/">one team</a> used an in-ear device to measure oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, heart rate and temperature every 15 minutes in high-risk patients managing COVID at home. The data was monitored by a trained team and used to help identify which patients might need extra medical care.</p>
<p>Early in the pandemic, smartphones were proposed as a potential solution <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7305055/">to detect hypoxia</a> via the user’s fingertip. Hypoxia refers to low oxygen levels in the body tissues and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32985528/">occurs silently</a> in some COVID patients with more serious disease.</p>
<p>Wearable technologies have also been used to map the impacts of COVID on a broader scale. For instance, data from many thousands of Fitbits highlighted <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33771534/">changes in sleep</a> during the pandemic (early in the pandemic people were generally sleeping for longer, for example).</p>
<h2>An extra line of defence</h2>
<p>Most of the wearable and other technologies being trialled for their potential <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0243693">to detect COVID</a> rely on <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32946413/">artificial intelligence</a> (AI) methods, particularly machine learning and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28055930/">deep learning</a>. AI can effectively scan a large amount of data in great detail to identify relevant patterns in body signals to recognise the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26173222/">health condition of interest</a>. </p>
<p>However, patterns of biological signals can be highly variable within and between patients, so there may be limits to these AI models in the real world. It’s also worth noting that off-the-shelf wearable devices haven’t specifically been designed to monitor infectious disease symptoms continuously. So there may be improvements needed to the technology and to the algorithms.</p>
<p>We will need ongoing research to address these challenges, alongside close scrutiny of any possible privacy concerns associated with collecting biological data for this purpose. But wearables and other digital technologies could provide an added line of defence to help us keep COVID and other infectious diseases at bay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181479/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Javier Andreu-Perez has received in-kind support for his research related to COVID-19 from Oracle for Research and the Nimar Charitable Trust.</span></em></p>Smartwatches could provide an extra line of defence to help us keep COVID and other infectious diseases at bay. Here’s what the evidence says.Javier Andreu-Perez, Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Sciences and Electronic Engineering, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1734192021-12-12T19:09:02Z2021-12-12T19:09:02ZWhy wearable fitness trackers aren’t as useless as some make them out to be<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436841/original/file-20211210-172173-80w7n7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=77%2C44%2C7238%2C4858&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wearable fitness trackers will be on many Christmas shopping lists this year, with a vast range of devices (and an ever-increasing number of features) hitting the market just in time for the festive season. </p>
<p>But what does the latest research say about how effective they are? </p>
<h2>Fitness trackers are trendy</h2>
<p>Currently, <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/digitalconsumertrends.html">about one in five</a> Australians own one of these wearables, and about a quarter use a mobile app or website to monitor their activity levels and health. And sales are <a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/australia-wearables-market">predicted to grow</a> over the next five years. </p>
<p>The landscape of the market is fast changing. For years, Fitbit and Garmin were the market leaders. But Australians now <a href="https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1187946/ehealth-tracker-smart-watch-usage-by-brand-in-australia">favour</a> Apple watches (used by 43% of people owning a wearable tracker) over Fitbit (35%) and Samsung watches (16%) over Garmin (13%).</p>
<p>So far fitness trackers have mostly been taken up by younger people: about one in four Australians aged 20–40 report using one, compared to just one in ten people aged <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/662856/australia-tracking-health-via-apps-bands-or-smartwatches-by-gender/">60 or older</a>.</p>
<p>However, manufacturers are on a mission to change this, by adding features that allow users to monitor not just their fitness activity, but several other aspect of their health.</p>
<p>For instance, recent wearable models from all the leading manufacturers claim to measure a host of medical metrics, such as blood pressure, body fat levels, the amount of oxygen in your blood, your heart activity, and even identify when you’ve taken a fall (with a feature that lets you call for help). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-we-really-need-to-walk-10-000-steps-a-day-153765">Do we really need to walk 10,000 steps a day?</a>
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<h2>Wearables get the basics right</h2>
<p>Firstly, a multitude of <a href="https://mhealth.jmir.org/2020/9/e18694/">studies</a> have looked at the accuracy of wearable fitness trackers for measurements related to physical activity, including step counts, heart rate and number of calories burned. They show step counts are generally highly accurate, while heart rate and calories burned are reasonably accurate. </p>
<p>When study participants wear two different activity trackers at the same time, the numbers of steps, minutes of activity and calories burned aren’t exactly the same, but they are <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-015-0314-1">correlated</a>. That is, when one goes up so does the other, and vice versa. This suggests they are generally capturing the same information, albeit with slightly different sensitivity.</p>
<p>Evidence for sleep tracking is a little patchier. Wearables are pretty good at detecting bed time, wake time and overall sleep duration. But estimates for more technical metrics such as the “phases” of sleep – such as REM sleep – don’t marry with medical-grade measurements taken by <a href="https://www.jmir.org/2019/11/e16273/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook">polysomnography</a>.</p>
<h2>Sometimes wearables go beyond the basics</h2>
<p>In a 2019 Apple-sponsored study <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31722151/">reported in the</a> New England Medical Journal, 419,297 participants without known atrial fibrillation wore an Apple Watch. During the study, 2,161 of them received an irregular pulse notification, of which 84% were subsequently confirmed to have atrial fibrillation (an irregular and rapid heart beat). </p>
<p>This is a serious medical condition that requires treatment to prevent stroke.
The ability to alert users of a potential undiagnosed cardiac condition seems highly beneficial. Although, <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1901183#article_letters">others</a> have cautioned the Apple Watch can also miss cases of undiagnosed atrial fibrillation – which emphasises the importance of <em>never</em> relying on wearable metrics for medical purposes.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCEP.121.010063">Another study</a> published in September reaffirmed the Apple watch’s electrocardiogram feature can detect serious cardiac irregularities. A similar <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33865810/">study</a> is currently underway to evaluate Fitbit’s electrocardiogram feature, but results aren’t out yet.</p>
<h2>Building a more advanced tracker</h2>
<p>In terms of detecting falls (which would be very useful for older individuals), scientists are developing wrist-worn devices that can accurately do this using <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7723508">accelerometer technology</a>, which is the same underlying technology already used by wearables. So the technology is there, but at this point it’s unclear whether the promising lab results will translate to accuracy in commercial wearables.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the newest Samsung watch claims to measure <a href="https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/measure-bp-on-samsung-watch/">blood pressure</a> and <a href="https://www.samsung.com/levant/support/mobile-devices/measure-your-body-composition-with-the-galaxy-watch4-series/">body composition</a> (such as fat mass, muscle mass and bone mass). Body composition is measured using a method called bioelectric impedance analysis. </p>
<p>When the user touches the watch with their opposite hand, it passes a weak electrical signal through the body and back to the watch. The body composition is then calculated using algorithms and the manually entered body weight.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Calipers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436842/original/file-20211210-25-famzi8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Calipers can be used to try to measure body fat percentage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>At this stage, there’s no data in the scientific literature to support the accuracy of these measurements, so we’d recommend taking them with a pinch of salt. Then again, only a few years ago the same criticism was made of electrocardiogram measurements from wearables – and these have subsequently shown to have merit. </p>
<h2>Evidence says your effort will pay off</h2>
<p>So that’s the run down on accuracy, but do fitness trackers make a difference in people’s lives?</p>
<p>Hundreds of studies have used wearable activity trackers to try to increase physical activity in various general and patient populations. Meta-analyses (which involve combining results of multiple studies) suggest the devices are effective in helping people become more <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30977740/">physically active</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8597870/">lose weight</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-020-00955-2">meta-analysis</a> of 35 studies in various chronic disease populations suggested users added around 2,100 additional steps per day after they started using a wearable activity tracker. Other meta-analyses have suggested weight loss in the order of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7589007/">1 to 1.5 kilograms</a>, on average, over the duration of the studies (with the duration varying between studies). </p>
<p>And <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-020-01020-8">studies</a> that look specifically at step-tracking over long periods suggest the benefits gained are still present (although smaller) up to four years after the device was first worn.</p>
<p>Accuracy and effectiveness aside, wearable users typically report being <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29141607/">satisfied with their devices</a>. So if you happen to get one in your Christmas stocking this year, keep in mind it could help with those New Year’s fitness resolutions. </p>
<hr>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-apps-track-vital-health-stats-for-millions-of-people-but-doctors-arent-using-the-data-heres-how-it-could-reduce-costs-and-patient-outcomes-162575">Health apps track vital health stats for millions of people, but doctors aren't using the data – here's how it could reduce costs and patient outcomes</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carol Maher receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, the National Heart Foundation, the South Australian Department for Innovation and Skills, the South Australian Department for Education, Healthway and Hunter New England Local Health District.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Singh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>About one in five Aussies currently own a wearable fitness tracker of some kind. Yet many people doubt their effectiveness. Let’s see what the research suggests.Ben Singh, Research fellow, University of South AustraliaCarol Maher, Professor, Medical Research Future Fund Emerging Leader, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638602021-07-15T16:46:42Z2021-07-15T16:46:42ZWearable tech at the Olympics: How athletes are using it to train to win<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410869/original/file-20210712-70822-19nc18m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C4896%2C3202&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wearable technology can help elite athletes, but sometimes too much data can be a problem.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 250px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/wearable-tech-at-the-olympics--how-athletes-are-using-it-to-train-to-win" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>One of the joys of watching the Olympics is seeing the speed, strength and grace of the competitors. It’s amazing how the best athletes in the world make it look easy, but for anyone with personal experience in a particular sport, there’s an appreciation for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication that goes into producing medal-winning performances. </p>
<p>Given the high standards of Olympic competition, it’s not surprising that coaches and athletes look for any possible advantage — from dietary regimens to equipment innovations and novel training methods — to maximize the chances of success. </p>
<p>One of the more recent tools in the Olympic arsenal is wearable technology, which many of us are familiar. Devices such as Fitbit, Garmin, Polar and the Apple watch allow us to measure and track various aspects of our health and performance. </p>
<p>Wearable tech was especially useful to keep track of athletes when training grounds were shut down because of the pandemic. The English Premier League used it to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/tech/statsports-performance-tracking-spt-spc-intl/index.html">keep track</a> of their players during remote training after the country went into lockdown.</p>
<p>In simple terms, “wearable technology” refers to anything attached to the body that measures some aspect of performance during physical activities such as running, biking, walking or swimming.</p>
<h2>How sensors monitor movement</h2>
<p>Many of the current devices involve micro-electromechanical systems, which incorporate sensors that quantify some aspect of physical function or movement — such as heart rate, speed, force or acceleration. </p>
<p>One of the main advantages of wearable systems is that they’re relatively inexpensive and small enough to be attached to any part of the human body. As a biomechanics researcher, I typically analyze movement in a lab with expensive 3D cameras. While this provides a high degree of accuracy, it limits the types and quantity of movements that can be analyzed. </p>
<p>Wearable technology — my current research and consulting focus — provides exciting new opportunities to measure performance from entirely new perspective, from basic metrics such as step or stroke count to new and highly advanced metrics such as harmonic ratios (frequency analysis) and fractal (self-similar) pattern recognition.</p>
<p>Consequently, wearable tech has the capability to provide a vast array of metrics to coaches and athletes in many different sports — from stride rate and stroke rate in running, swimming and rowing, to ground contact time and force analysis in speed skating and jumping. </p>
<h2>Continuous data</h2>
<p>One of the most obvious benefits of wearable tech is its ability to provide information that wasn’t previously available. For example, force-sensing resistors placed in shoes, ski boots or bike pedals can provide a continuous stream of data for entire training sessions.</p>
<p>Similarly, volleyball coaches who want to track the number of jumps in a given period of time (at each practice or during a week) to monitor training volume for the prevention of knee injuries, previously had to watch hours of video to obtain this information. </p>
<p>Currently, a simple wearable device called <a href="https://www.myvert.com/">(VERT)</a> can automatically extract this information using an accelerometer. One of my <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/wearable-tech-designed-canadian-swimmers-spawns-swimlytics/">recent research projects</a> used the same sensor to determine stroke count and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14763141.2020.1760923">body roll in elite swimmers</a>, as both of these factors contribute to the mechanisms of shoulder injury.</p>
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<img alt="Swimmer in swim cap treading water and holding onto swim rope" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Canadian Olympian Penny Oleksiak at the 2019 World Swimming Championships in South Korea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Must be accurate and reliable</h2>
<p>To benefit performance, the data collected from wearable tech has to be both valid (accurate) and reliable (measured consistently).</p>
<p>This is not as easy as it sounds because the algorithms used to extract meaningful performance metrics are often finicky. For the information to be useful to coaches for evaluating performance and making training-related decisions (such as technique modifications), it has to be trustworthy. </p>
<p>The data also needs to be placed into the appropriate context to have meaning. For example, a sensor can tell a coach a swimmer’s average stroke rate for an entire race (or training session), but it’s not as meaningful as knowing how it varied or when it changed during the race. </p>
<p>Understanding the data in the appropriate context can provide insights into race tactics, pacing strategies and conditioning, but without this information the data is often meaningless. </p>
<h2>Quantity of data can be unmanageable</h2>
<p>An additional consideration for the implementation of wearable tech by Olympic athletes is the amount of data that’s generated.</p>
<p>Wearable tech produces large quantities of data that needs to be analyzed and contextualized with other types of information, such as sets, repetitions, intensities and interval times. The sheer quantity of data can easily become unmanageable when multiple athletes and training sessions are involved.</p>
<p>While challenging, the potential of wearable tech to provide new opportunities for Olympic athletes to optimize performance is unlimited, especially as sport science researchers continue to create new methods (such as AI) to explore what the technology is capable of. </p>
<p>It’s not unrealistic to imagine a not-too-distant future in which small unobtrusive sensors placed in a shoe or swim goggle will not only be able to enhance athletic performance, but be able to tell a recreational runner the amount of injury risk associated with a particular stride pattern or a physician the amount of risk associated with an elderly person’s gait.
Hopefully, in this way, wearable technology will provide many important benefits to society in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. John Barden provides sport science and data analytics consulting services to coaches and athletes through his company, Performance Insight. From 2015 to 2018 he received funding from Own the Podium to develop a sensor-based performance analysis system for Swimming Canada. </span></em></p>The future of wearable technology holds limitless potential for elite athletes to optimize and enhance their athletic performance.John Barden, Professor of Biomechanics, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1560282021-03-03T20:39:10Z2021-03-03T20:39:10ZOntario’s plans for COVID-19 contact tracing wearable devices threaten freedom and privacy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387343/original/file-20210302-23-30vus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3822%2C2144&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wearable devices can help track the spread of COVID-19 in places where smartphone use isn't possible.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In February, the Ontario government announced it had invested $2.5 million in <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/60375/ontario-investing-in-wearable-contact-tracing-technology-to-help-protect-workers-from-covid-19">wearable contact tracing technology</a> to help curb the spread of coronavirus. The funds will be directed to Facedrive Inc., a Toronto-based company, to accelerate the production of its contact tracing wristbands worn by essential workers. </p>
<p>These wristbands are being tested and considered for wide use in <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-investing-2-5m-in-wearable-tracing-tech-that-will-beep-or-vibrate-if-people-aren-t-six-feet-apart-1.5314282">long-term care homes, a First Nation community, airlines, schools and construction sites</a>. They work by communicating with other devices through a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, sending an alert to any employee who has been in close contact with somebody who has tested positive for the virus. The wristbands also enforce social distancing by vibrating or beeping whenever they are within two metres of each other.</p>
<h2>Contact tracing technologies</h2>
<p>During the early stages of the pandemic, governments around the world repurposed new and pre-existing technologies in efforts to track, monitor and contain the spread of the virus. Many privacy experts and surveillance scholars feared the expansion of government and corporate surveillance, pointing out the long-term implications for <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/location-surveillance-counter-covid-19-efficacy-what-matters">privacy rights, civil liberties</a> and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/the-dangers-of-tech-driven-solutions-to-covid-19/">democracy</a>. Contact tracing apps were one of these innovations. </p>
<p>Eager for life to return to normal, a little over half (<a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-631-x/11-631-x2020003-eng.htm">56 per cent</a>) of Canadians revealed they were willing to use a contact tracing app. Fast forward to today, it remains unclear whether <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/covid-alert-app-data-collection-1.5907307">COVID Alert, Canada’s contact tracing app, has been effective in curbing the spread of the coronavirus</a>. As for contact tracing wearable devices, the effectiveness also remains up in the air.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A Canadian government video showing how the COVID Alert app works.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Discriminatory applications</h2>
<p>The allure of technologies often overshadows the immediate and long-term social, political and ethical implications that Canadians and policymakers need to be aware of.</p>
<p>As someone who has researched <a href="https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/handle/1974/26615">surveillance and its histories</a>, the current government proposal is unsettling due to the places and people it targets. </p>
<p>Data shows that workplaces deemed essential services are characterized by highly <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-631-x/2020004/conclusions-eng.htm">racialized labour forces</a>; the introduction of surveillance technologies like a wearable bracelet will disproportionately target vulnerable groups who have <a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/disparate-impact-surveillance/">historically been subjected to disparate forms of surveillance and discrimination</a>. The policy may not only fail to slow the spread of the virus but may actually perpetuate historical legacies of discrimination against vulnerable populations including racialized and low-income groups.</p>
<p>There is also potential for discrimination and bias as a result of the visibility of the devices. More than just an item around the wrist, the device <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/chances-of-bias-increases-with-the-use-of-covid-19-contact-tracing-wearable-193933562.html">broadcasts a personal decision: to opt-in or opt-out of contact tracing</a>. At the same time, it may act as an identifying symbol for a particular labour force.</p>
<h2>Ensuring privacy</h2>
<p>Before the COVID Alert app was launched in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid-pandemic-app-ontario-1.5670239">Ontario in July 2020</a>, federal and provincial governments worked together in consultation with privacy bodies, while <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/cybersecure-catalyst/news/Covid-19-news-update/">independent researchers and experts</a> also offered recommendations. <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/06/15/canada-can-set-the-standard-on-contact-tracing-apps.html">I, and others on our team</a>, made recommendations to enhance COVID Alert’s privacy and security standards, <a href="https://www.cybersecurepolicy.ca/racetotrace">many of which were implemented</a>. Many lauded the app for its <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/canadian-privacy-watchdogs-support-covid-19-exposure-app-1.5049847">privacy-preserving and data security protections</a>. Yet Ontario’s recent decision to invest in wearable contact tracing devices did not receive the same extensive level of public consultation, raising concerns over transparency, privacy and data security.</p>
<p>In a privacy white paper co-authored with the law firm McCarthy Tétrault LLP — available only upon request, making it a challenge for researchers to review —Facedrive claims to <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200604005310/en/">have followed Canadian privacy guidelines</a>. But Canadian privacy laws have been largely criticized for being outdated and are not an adequate benchmark for judging a piece of technology’s threat to privacy.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-out-of-date-online-privacy-rules-arent-protecting-you-142585">Canada's out-of-date online privacy rules aren't protecting you</a>
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<p>Current privacy laws have <a href="https://www.colinbennett.ca/canadian-privacy/submission-on-reform-of-canadas-privacy-act-modernizing-canadas-privacy-act/">been criticized for not clearly defining concepts like “personal information,”</a> allowing tech companies to claim compliance while exploiting ambiguities in the law. Facedrive claims that their wearables “do not contain any personal information” since employee names are mapped with <a href="https://health.facedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/TraceSCAN-Deck.pdf">wearable serial numbers and stored on a centralized Microsoft Azure server</a>. Yet the name of the employee whose test is positive and the names of those they interacted with are still available and revealed to employers on an online dashboard. </p>
<p>Further complicating matters, once an employer is logged in to the dashboard, not only are they able to see who has been in contact with whom, they’re also <a href="https://health.facedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/TraceSCAN-Deck.pdf">able to assess individual employee risk levels for virus exposure</a> and manually send notifications if they suspect transmission. This means that employers are provided with what is essentially health data, while also taking up the public health role of contact tracer. This raises further questions about employee privacy rights, data security and the ethics of workplace surveillance.</p>
<h2>Threats to democracy</h2>
<p>Without critical examination and debate, such surveillance practices will have serious implications for civil liberties, especially the rights to privacy, freedom from discrimination and autonomy. The deployment of contact tracing wearables in workplaces will normalize surveillance and lead to its expansion — <a href="https://health.facedrive.com/how-it-works/">Facedrive has already indicated</a> its interest in continuing the use of its technologies beyond the pandemic.</p>
<p>Wearable contact tracing devices and the data they collect can threaten our rights, freedoms and even democracy itself. It is vital for the general public, employers and policy-makers to think carefully about the limitations and implications of wearable tracking devices including the ways in which they use, collect and store data as well as how such surveillance operations will dissemble after the pandemic and not be overcome by the technological fanfare.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156028/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Masoodi receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the
Government of Canada’s Future Skills program. His research has been funded by the Government of Canada, Department of National Defence, City of Toronto, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and RBC. He is Policy Analyst at the Ryerson Leadership Lab and Cybersecure Policy Exchange at Ryerson University. </span></em></p>The government of Ontario’s announcement of funding of a wearable contact tracking device for workplaces raises concerns about privacy and surveillance.Joe Masoodi, Policy Analyst, Ryerson Leadership Lab, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1543132021-02-08T15:54:45Z2021-02-08T15:54:45ZA button that tells your boss you’re unhappy: why mental health wearables could be bad news at work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383075/original/file-20210208-19-1nf6u4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C7326%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/modern-innovations-handsome-young-man-setting-524678926">G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With gyms closed and millions cooped up and restless at home, it’s little wonder that “healthtech” is now being billed as the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/10/16/apple-google-amazon-and-the-9-trillion-battle-over-the-future-of-healthtech-former-apple-ceo-john-sculley/?sh=a00b0c456033%5D">next big battleground</a> over which the likes of Microsoft, Apple and Google will fight. Chief among their products are wearable devices that measure your heart rate, your step count, and dozens of other data points that keep you informed about your physical health.</p>
<p>The increasing prevalence of these devices is to be welcomed. They help people track their workouts, setting quantifiable goals that can help them stay fit and healthy. </p>
<p>But the introduction of wearables that measure our mental health – like employee mood tracker “<a href="https://moodbeam.co.uk/business">Moodbeam</a>” – should be greeted with a more cautious optimism. Such devices will, after all, hold some of our most personal data – and constantly logging our emotional state might even be counterproductive in helping us achieve better mental health.</p>
<h2>The wearables boom</h2>
<p>Wearables are now commonplace in people’s lives. The wearable technology market is currently valued at <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/wearable-technology-market">US$37 billion</a> (£26.9 billion) and is forecast to grow to include 1 billion connected wearable devices <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/487291/global-connected-wearable-devices/">by 2022</a>. People value the ability to measure their health and performance, using “health indicators” like their heart rate to better plan workouts and fitness routines. </p>
<p>Wearables contribute to the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444815588768">quantified-self</a>” movement, which sees us use technology to collect and process more and more data about our lives in the hopes of optimising our behaviour. This movement has already spread into the workplace, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444820983324">office workers</a> now granted data showing them how long they spend sitting down during working hours. And now, companies on the hunt for the next big health indicator have landed on our mental health – a particular concern to emerge during the ongoing pandemic.</p>
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<img alt="A woman in a pharmacy checks her smartwatch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383008/original/file-20210208-15-vitqgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383008/original/file-20210208-15-vitqgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383008/original/file-20210208-15-vitqgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383008/original/file-20210208-15-vitqgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383008/original/file-20210208-15-vitqgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383008/original/file-20210208-15-vitqgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383008/original/file-20210208-15-vitqgx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wearable technology, like the smartwatch, can help us monitor a number of ‘health indicators’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mid-adult-female-consumer-casuals-using-305644691">Tyler Olson/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Leading this new development in wearable tech is the <a href="https://moodbeam.co.uk/business">Moodbeam</a> device, which is worn on the wrist. Rather than passively tracking physical health indicators, users of the Moodbeam device are encouraged to press one of two buttons – yellow for “OK” and blue for “not OK” – when they register a mood change, or at scheduled times of the day. The idea behind the device is to add emotional wellbeing to the established health indicator list, processing how our moods fluctuate across a typical day. </p>
<p>Linking to a smartphone application, Moodbeam gives an overview of “mood moments”, which aim to help users spot trends and patterns in their mental health over time. Users can also enter journal entries as well as pressing the wearable’s buttons, and this may facilitate greater self-awareness and better emotional literacy – helping users come to terms with bad habits, or moments in their days which make them feel “not OK”.</p>
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<p>At the moment, Moodbeam is primarily marketed as a digital solution for employers to check in with their remote-working staff – effectively giving workers an opportunity to register their emotional upsets when working from home. But this system raises worrying questions about privacy and employer surveillance – and that’s before we’ve properly studied whether mental health wearables might actually cause more harm than good.</p>
<h2>Instructive or invasive?</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://mhealth.jmir.org/2019/11/e14946">previous research</a> has dealt with mood monitoring. We looked at how people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease responded to a monthly mood questionnaire as part of a wider digital intervention. We found that more than half of participants reported rising mood scores across 12 months. </p>
<p>This finding would not have been captured had mood not been recorded as a data point, highlighting the benefit of monitoring mood in patient groups. Even more frequent monitoring, with devices like the Moodbeam, may help people better understand their emotional wellbeing, while also providing additional insights to inform mental health interventions on the part of medical professionals. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-we-really-need-to-walk-10-000-steps-a-day-153765">Do we really need to walk 10,000 steps a day?</a>
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<p>On the other hand, we know employees haven’t responded well to having their feelings monitored in the past. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3323-3">focus group</a> exploring perceptions towards wellbeing wearables in the workplace, truck drivers expressed scepticism about whether employers truly cared about their health – seeing it as a “tick box exercise” more for the benefit of employer reputation than employee wellbeing. </p>
<p>It’s easy to imagine wearables like Moodbeam causing employees anxiety and provoking fears about “what happens next” after they press a Moodbeam button – especially the “not OK” one. It’ll be important for companies to be clear about how such data will be used, setting out policies that explain how they’ll respond to negative feelings in their workforce. Privacy remains a concern for Moodbeam data, which is currently <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55637328">shared at an individual level</a> with employers.</p>
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<img alt="An office worker in a chair sits back with their hands hend their head looking at their screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383010/original/file-20210208-19-102mro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383010/original/file-20210208-19-102mro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383010/original/file-20210208-19-102mro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383010/original/file-20210208-19-102mro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383010/original/file-20210208-19-102mro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383010/original/file-20210208-19-102mro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383010/original/file-20210208-19-102mro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Employees could use wellbeing monitors to tell their managers how they feel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/calm-businesswoman-office-worker-holding-hands-1322061182">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Beyond the workplace, it’s unclear whether the “OK or not OK” approach promoted by Moodbeam is the right one for mental health monitoring. Emotionally literate individuals are able to understand and express a wide spectrum of emotions, many of which may resist grouping into a binary choice of “OK” or “not OK”. And, if users are constantly pressured to judge their emotions, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28703602/">logging some as negative</a> could lead to negative mental health impacts. Put simply: feeling bad about feeling bad can make you feel even worse. </p>
<p>Moodbeam is yet to publish any data on user engagement and implementation. It’ll be important to see and examine this data, now that wellbeing trackers are looking likely to become another household health indicator – to determine if they’ll be helpful for users, or a sinister form of surveillance for employers.</p>
<p>In the meantime, companies deciding to employ wearables like Moodbeam must give careful consideration to what they do with mood data, and how they plan to use it to actively help their employees. And individual users should engage with this new technology with caution: it may help them map their moods more effectively, but it could also lead them to feel worse about their wellbeing in the long run.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Wearables already monitor our physical health – is it time for them to track our mental health too?Maxine Whelan, Assistant Professor - Centre for Intelligent Healthcare, Coventry UniversityCeline Brookes-Smith, PhD Researcher - Centre for Intelligent Healthcare, Coventry UniversityNatalie Bisal, PhD Researcher, Centre for Intelligent Healthcare, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1525002021-01-12T10:16:19Z2021-01-12T10:16:19ZAre sleep trackers accurate? Here’s what researchers currently know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378058/original/file-20210111-17-1smupng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C13%2C8661%2C5761&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sleep trackers use an algorithm to estimate how much time you spent asleep based on body movements.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-man-sleeping-smart-watch-his-1219812262">Andrey_Popov/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An estimated <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/why-lack-of-sleep-is-bad-for-your-health/">one in three people</a> report regular sleep complaints. So it’s hardly surprising people are more concerned than ever about getting enough sleep. This blossoming interest has seen an explosion of sleep trackers which measure how many hours of sleep you get each night. </p>
<p>As we sleep, we go through cycles of “deep”, “light” and “rapid eye movement” (REM) sleep. The “deep” portion of our sleep is mainly what leaves us feeling refreshed the next day. Most sleep trackers are a watch worn on the wrist, and work by monitoring your body movements as you sleep to determine how much time you probably spent awake versus asleep. Some devices also look at heart rate changes during sleeping to estimate how much time you spent in each sleep cycle.</p>
<p>Despite their popularity, only a few studies have investigated how accurate sleep devices are. So far, research has found that compared to polysomnography tests – which experts use to diagnose sleep disorders – sleep trackers are only accurate <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31154154/">78% of the time</a> when identifying sleep versus wakefulness. This accuracy drops to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31154154/">around 38%</a> when estimating how long it took participants to fall asleep. </p>
<p>Polysomnography tests are the most accurate because they track a person’s brain waves, heart rate, breathing, blood oxygen levels, and body and eye movements during sleep through electrodes attached to the skin and scalp. Analysing brain wave patterns is the only definitive way of knowing whether someone is awake or asleep, and to know what stage of sleep they’re in.</p>
<p>But since sleep trackers are worn on the wrist, they make their estimates of nightly sleep by measuring body movement and sometimes heart rate data. As we move frequently during all stages of sleep, movement provides few clues about what sleep stage we’re in. Many sleep devices also fail to differentiate one stage of sleep from another <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14998254/">based on motion alone</a>.</p>
<p>Given many consumer sleep devices haven’t been compared against polysomnography tests, it’s difficult to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31621129/">determine their accuracy rate</a>. Furthermore, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109647/#:%7E:text=Key%20Limitations%20of%20Wrist%20Actigraphy,sleep%20in%20certain%20patient%20groups">algorithms which companies use</a> to make predictions about sleep are unknown, making it difficult for scientists to identify whether the assumptions made by the sleep devices are valid. </p>
<p>Studies also show sleep devices underperform in people with insomnia. People with insomnia tend to remain very still in bed in an attempt to fall asleep. But as sleep trackers only measure movement, one study found watches were unable to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31621129/">differentiate sleep from wakefulness</a> in people with insomnia.</p>
<p>Watches that incorporate <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6760396/">heart rate data</a> tend to be <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32215550/">slightly more accurate</a> when measuring sleep duration because <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49703-y">heart rate fluctuates</a> during different sleep stages. However, even in devices that do track heart rate, many experts are still uncertain of their accuracy because of the limited research on them, and because of the differences between each device. For example, one study of heart rate sleep trackers showed that two consumer devices tended to underestimate the amount of deep sleep wearers obtained by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6760396/">as much as 46 minutes</a>.</p>
<h2>Sleep anxiety</h2>
<p>Ultimately, this leads to the question of whether knowing about our sleep is actually beneficial to us. After all, one of the best ways to stay awake is to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16809056/">try really hard to go to sleep</a>. It sounds counterintuitive, but we see this clinically in patients with chronic insomnia, for whom excessive pre-occupation with sleep causes anxiety and low mood over sleep loss – <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/29/2/232/2708051?login=true&fbclid=IwAR0aucBM7TITmyS1Ws0Tan33xffKVHQAmNUsJrtwfApRc76_KPlaRCTMuvs">leading to further sleeplessness</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman with insomnia lying awake in bed, struggling to sleep." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378061/original/file-20210111-13-15lycd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378061/original/file-20210111-13-15lycd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378061/original/file-20210111-13-15lycd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378061/original/file-20210111-13-15lycd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378061/original/file-20210111-13-15lycd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378061/original/file-20210111-13-15lycd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378061/original/file-20210111-13-15lycd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Knowing how much – or little – sleep we got could cause anxiety.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/picture-young-woman-insomnia-lying-on-1064573882">Sergey Mironov/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A study published by <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29989248/">our research group</a> showed this effect can be worsened by sleep watches. Participants were given sleep watches and asked to complete measures of mood, daytime thinking processes and sleepiness at regular periods throughout the day. However, the “sleep score” given by their watches was manipulated to show either an increased or a decreased quality of sleep. The amount and quality of sleep participants in both groups got was the same.</p>
<p>The study found that those who were told they had a poor night’s sleep showed lower mood, difficulties with daytime thinking processes and increased sleepiness. Those who were told they had a great night’s sleep showed the opposite. </p>
<p>This shows us that data from these sleep trackers could change your emotional state and concentration levels during the day – even if the readings are accurate. Given people who experience poor sleep may be more likely to use sleep tracking devices, this could be a concern as it may potentially <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6579636/">worsen mental health issues</a>. </p>
<p>While few studies have examined this link so far, one report highlighted more patients are seeking treatment for <a href="https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/full/10.5664/jcsm.6472?fbclid=IwAR1KxcxhdpG9CSoB-72R4cOA_o5iVidnDecoeh8-yzRsf-uhkf42WIPx9qw&">perceived sleep difficulties</a> as a result of feedback from sleep trackers. Even when such complaints are refuted by a polysomnography test, watches continue to provide a source of sleep-related anxiety. Since studies have shown <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19325037.2020.1767004?journalCode=ujhe20.">overuse of wearable devices</a> (such as those used during exercise) increase <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343942681_When_smartwatches_contribute_to_health_anxiety_in_patients_with_atrial_fibrillation">health anxiety and depression</a>, there’s concerns sleep devices may have a similar effect. </p>
<p>While sleep devices might be useful for those who have generally good sleep but are interested in tracking or establishing a better routine, people who have poor sleep or mental health conditions may want to avoid them. But the best metric for measuring how good your sleep was is to see how you feel each day. If you’re tired and struggling to concentrate, then going to bed a bit earlier each night may help you feel more rested – no device necessary.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Reid does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite the appeal of sleep trackers, they could cause unwanted anxiety for some.Matthew Reid, Post Doctoral Researcher, Sleep and Circadian Neurosciences, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1330402020-09-24T12:21:12Z2020-09-24T12:21:12ZDynamic tattoos promise to warn wearers of health threats<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359680/original/file-20200923-17-1hotilu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6357%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the not-too-distant future, tattoos could become medical diagnostic devices as well as body art.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cropped-view-of-female-doctor-in-white-coat-with-royalty-free-image/918494936?adppopup=true">LightFieldStudios/iStock via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the sci-fi novel <a href="https://www.nealstephenson.com/the-diamond-age.html">“The Diamond Age”</a> by Neal Stephenson, body art has evolved into “constantly shifting mediatronic tattoos” – in-skin displays powered by nanotech robopigments. In the 25 years since the novel was published, nanotechnology has had time to catch up, and the sci-fi vision of dynamic tattoos is starting to become a reality. </p>
<p>The first examples of color-changing nanotech tattoos have been developed over the past few years, and they’re not just for body art. They have a biomedical purpose. Imagine a tattoo that alerts you to a health problem signaled by a change in your biochemistry, or to radiation exposure that could be dangerous to your health.</p>
<p>You can’t walk into a doctor’s office and get a dynamic tattoo yet, but they are on the way. Early proof-of-concept studies provide convincing evidence that tattoos can be engineered, not only to change color, but to sense and convey biomedical information, including the onset of cancer. </p>
<h2>Signaling biochemical changes</h2>
<p>In 2017, researchers tattooed pigskin, which had been removed from the pig, with <a href="http://doi.org/10.1145/3123021.3123039">molecular biosensors that use color</a> to indicate sodium, glucose or pH levels in the skin’s fluids.</p>
<p>In 2019, a team of researchers expanded on that study to include <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201904416">protein sensing and developed smartphone readouts for the tattoos</a>. This year, they also showed that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2020.128378">electrolyte levels could be detected with fluorescent tattoo sensors</a>. </p>
<p>In 2018, a team of biologists developed a <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aap8562">tattoo made of engineered skin cells</a> that darken when they sense an imbalance of calcium caused by certain cancers. They demonstrated the cancer-detecting tattoo in living mice. </p>
<h2>UV radiation sensors</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.emergentnanomaterials.com/">My lab</a> is <a href="https://go.ted.com/carsonbruns">looking at tech tattoos from a different angle</a>. We are interested in sensing external harms, such as ultraviolet radiation. UV exposure in sunlight and tanning beds is the main risk factor for all types of skin cancer. Nonmelanoma skin cancers are the most common malignancies in the U.S., Australia and Europe. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A four-panel series shows a UV-activated tattoo appearing in a star pattern, erased and then appearing in a dot pattern" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=151&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=151&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=190&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=190&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358923/original/file-20200920-20-5f64p7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=190&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UV-activated tattoo ink is invisible until exposed to UV light.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jesse Butterfield/The Laboratory for Emergent Nanomaterials, University of Colorado Boulder</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To help address this problem, we developed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c05723">an invisible tattoo ink that turns blue only in UV light</a>, alerting you when your skin needs protection. The tattoo ink contains a UV-activated dye inside of a plastic nanocapsule less than a micron in diameter – or thousandth of a millimeter – about the same size as an ordinary tattoo pigment.</p>
<p>The nanocapsule is needed to make the color-changing tattoo particles large enough. If tattoo pigments are too small, the immune system rapidly clears them from the skin and the tattoo disappears. They are implanted using tattoo machines in the same way as regular tattoos, but they last for only several months before they start to degrade from UV exposure and other natural processes and fade, requiring a “booster” tattoo. </p>
<p>I served as the first human test subject for these tattoos. I created “solar freckles” on my forearm – invisible spots that turned blue under UV exposure and reminded me when to wear sunscreen. My lab is also working on invisible UV-protective tattoos that would absorb UV light penetrating through the skin, like a long-lasting sunscreen just below the surface. We’re also working on “thermometer” tattoos using temperature-sensitive inks. Ultimately, we believe tattoo inks could be used to prevent and diagnose disease.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4CGFPbFqdJ4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In this TEDx talk, the author demonstrates the UV-detecting tattoo.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Temporary high-tech tattoos</h2>
<p>Temporary transfer tattoos are also undergoing a high-tech revolution. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1206157">Wearable electronic tattoos</a> that can sense electrophysiological signals like heart rate and brain activity or monitor hydration and glucose levels from sweat are under development. They can even be used for <a href="https://duoskin.media.mit.edu/">controlling mobile devices</a>, for example shuffling a music playlist at the touch of a tattoo, or for <a href="http://www.hybrid-ecologies.org/projects/12-skintillates">luminescent body art</a> that lights up the skin. </p>
<p>The advantage of these wearable tattoos is that they can use battery-powered electronics. The disadvantage is that they are much less permanent and comfortable than traditional tattoos. Likewise, electronic devices that go underneath the skin are being developed by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3238552">scientists</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2207676.2207745">designers</a> and <a href="https://wiki.biohack.me/wiki/index.php?title=Modifications_-_Implantable_Mods">biohackers</a> alike, but they require invasive surgical procedures for implantation. </p>
<p>Tattoos injected into the skin offer the best of both worlds: minimally invasive, yet permanent and comfortable. New <a href="http://doi.org/10.1063/1.5074176">needle-free tattooing methods</a> that fire microscopic ink droplets into the skin are now in development. Once perfected they will make tattooing quicker and less painful. </p>
<h2>Ready for everyday use?</h2>
<p>The color-changing tattoos in development are also going to open the door to a new kind of dynamic body art. Now that tattoo colors can be changed by an electromagnetic signal, you’ll soon be able to “program” your tattoo’s design, or switch it on and off. You can proudly display your neck tattoo at the motorcycle rally and still have clear skin in the courtroom. </p>
<p>As researchers develop dynamic tattoos, they’ll need to study the safety of the high-tech inks. As it is, little is known about the safety of the more than 100 different pigments used in normal tattoo inks. The <a href="https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-products/tattoos-permanent-makeup-fact-sheet">U.S. Food and Drug Administration</a> has not exercised regulatory authority over tattoo pigments, citing other competing public health priorities and a lack of evidence of safety problems with the pigments. So U.S. manufacturers can put whatever they want in tattoo inks and sell them without FDA approval. </p>
<p>So far, there is <a href="http://doi.org/10.1586/edm.09.28">no evidence that tattoos cause cancer</a>, and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/phpp.12181">one study even found that black tattoos protect against UV-induced skin cancer</a>. Still, many tattoo inks <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0536.2007.01301.x">contain or degrade into substances that are known to be hazardous</a>, and health complications including infection, allergy and granuloma have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clindermatol.2007.05.012">found in about 2% of tattoos</a>. More research is needed to understand the long-term effects of nano- and microimplants in the skin in general. </p>
<p>A wave of high-tech tattoos is slowly upwelling, and it will probably keep rising for the foreseeable future. When it arrives, you can decide to surf or watch from the beach. If you do climb on board, you’ll be able to check your body temperature or UV exposure by simply glancing at one of your tattoos.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133040/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carson J. Bruns does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers are developing tattoo inks that do more than make pretty colors. Some can sense chemicals, temperature and UV radiation, setting the stage for tattoos that diagnose health problems.Carson J. Bruns, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1433882020-08-07T12:35:59Z2020-08-07T12:35:59ZWearable fitness devices deliver early warning of possible COVID-19 infection<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350944/original/file-20200803-24-1x9uoce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5615%2C3715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fitness information from wearable devices can reveal when the body is fighting an infection.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/runner-in-the-park-using-smart-watch-royalty-free-image/636251614?adppopup=true">Nico De Pasquale Photography/Stone via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The difficulty many people have getting tested for SARS-CoV-2 and delays in receiving test results make early warning of possible COVID-19 infections all the more important, and <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/06/30/sciadv.abd4794.full">data from wearable health and fitness devices shows promise</a> for identifying who might have COVID-19. </p>
<p>Today’s wearable device gather data about physical activity, heart rate, body temperature and quality of sleep. This data is typically used to help people track general well-being. Smartwatches are the most common type of wearable. There are also smart wrist bands, finger rings and earbuds. Smart clothing, shoes and eyeglasses can also be considered “wearables.” Popular brands include Fitbits, Apple Watches and Garmin watches.</p>
<p>Several studies are <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/snyderlab/news/20202-covid-19-research.html">testing algorithms</a> that <a href="https://wvumedicine.org/news/article/wvu-rockefeller-neuroscience-institute-announces-capability-to-predict-covid-19-related-symptoms-up-/">assess data</a> from wearable devices to detect COVID-19. Results to date show that the concept is sound. However, wearables can be expensive and sometimes challenging to use. Addressing these issues is important to allow as many people as possible to benefit from them.</p>
<h2>Detecting flu-like illness</h2>
<p>Because wearables are excellent tools for monitoring general health conditions, researchers began studying ways of using them to detect illness before the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, researchers used Fitbit data <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(19)30222-5">to identify people who could have an influenza-like illness</a> from their resting heart rate and daily activity patterns. An elevated resting heart rate can be related to an infection. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Fitbit fitness tracker" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350946/original/file-20200803-24-t4cbmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350946/original/file-20200803-24-t4cbmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350946/original/file-20200803-24-t4cbmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350946/original/file-20200803-24-t4cbmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350946/original/file-20200803-24-t4cbmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=974&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350946/original/file-20200803-24-t4cbmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=974&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350946/original/file-20200803-24-t4cbmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=974&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fitness trackers like this Fitbit monitor heart rate, activity and quality of sleep. Elevated resting heart rate is a sign of infection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/185603127@N05/49111707501/">Krystal Peterson/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most Fitbit models measure and record heart rate, so the devices can be used to spot periods of increased resting heart rate. They also measure and record activity, so they can identify reduced levels of daily activity. Combining these two measures allowed the researchers to better predict who had an influenza-like illness. </p>
<p>It’s not possible to determine if a smart device wearer has a particular illness from just these data measures. But seeing a sudden change in these conditions can prompt people to isolate themselves and get diagnostic tests, which can reduce the spread of communicable diseases like COVID-19.</p>
<h2>Body temperature</h2>
<p>Fever and persistent cough are the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234765">most common symptoms of COVID-19</a>. This has sparked widespread screening using thermometers, most commonly contactless infrared thermometers. </p>
<p>Despite the ubiquity of thermometers, temperature sensors in wearables are uncommon. This is due in part to <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fs18061714">how complicated it is</a> to obtain true body temperature from skin-based measurements. Skin temperature varies depending on environmental conditions and stress levels, sweat evaporation can lower skin temperature, and temperature sensors sometimes have less-than-ideal contact with the skin.</p>
<p>There are wearable temperature patches that communicate with smart devices and record temperature continuously. But body temperature isn’t 100% predictive of illness, and it’s impossible to diagnose a particular infection, such as COVID-19, using body temperature alone. Nonetheless, a fever alert could lead to earlier intervention.</p>
<h2>Sweat and tears</h2>
<p>Research into sensing technology continues to expand the possibilities for wearables as health monitoring and diagnosis devices. The COVID-19 outbreak is likely to influence the direction of this research as well as accelerate it. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="backside of Garmin smartwatch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350948/original/file-20200803-14-1c653hn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350948/original/file-20200803-14-1c653hn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350948/original/file-20200803-14-1c653hn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350948/original/file-20200803-14-1c653hn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350948/original/file-20200803-14-1c653hn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350948/original/file-20200803-14-1c653hn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350948/original/file-20200803-14-1c653hn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The backside of this Garmin smartwatch shows the sensors that use light to illuminate blood vessels in order to measure heart rate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/185627742@N03/49108710981/">Tina Arnold/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One approach is to create sensors that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/elan.201800677">detect compounds in sweat</a> from the skin. These compounds can provide a lot of information about a person’s health. pH, sodium ions, glucose and alcohol content are just some of the things that emerging sweat sensors can detect. Tears also contain compounds from the body, so researchers are investigating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C9LC01039D">chemical sensing using contact lenses and smart lenses</a>. </p>
<p>Sweat rate can also be measured, which can be used as an indicator of temperature, so these sensors are being examined for use in <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/the-institute/ieee-member-news/sweat-sensing-patch-aimed-athletes-takes-covid19">helping detect COVID-19</a>. </p>
<h2>Toward detecting viruses</h2>
<p>The drawback of many existing wearable sensors is that they can’t actually detect the presence of a virus such at SARS-CoV-2. To do this, they would have to detect virus-specific RNA. </p>
<p>RNA detection typically involves several steps, including extracting RNA from a sample, making many copies of the RNA and identifying the RNA. Although there has been a lot of progress in miniaturizing RNA detection equipment for use in rapid, point-of-care testing, there’s still a ways to go before it can fit in wearable devices.</p>
<p>Much of the ongoing research on developing rapid, point-of-care pathogen detection uses “lab-on-a-chip” technology. Lab-on-a-chip refers to the goal of shrinking laboratory tests that once required many large pieces of equipment to the size of a computer chip or microscope slide. </p>
<p>An example is a <a href="https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/20451/Lab-on-a-Chip-LoC-COVID-19-Test-Advances-to-Clinical-Trials.aspx">COVID-19 diagnostic test</a> undergoing clinical trials. The test’s sensor is a specialized <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6189704">ion-sensitive field-effect transistor</a> (ISFET) that is designed to respond to the presence of the virus RNA. The device can perform a test in less than one hour, but requires a sample collected by nasal swab. </p>
<p>While this technology is not wearable, it could become the launching point for future virus-detecting wearables because these can be made small and use little power. A wearable device that continuously monitors a person and indicates that they’ve contracted or been exposed to the virus would allow the person to seek treatment and isolate themselves to prevent further spread.</p>
<h2>Sonic screwdrivers and tricorders</h2>
<p>Fans of Dr. Who know the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_screwdriver">sonic screwdriver</a>, and Star Trek followers know the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricorder">tricorder</a>. The ideal wearable of the future would be similar to these wondrous fictional devices. It would be able to detect the presence of the virus in the environment around the wearer, providing the opportunity to leave before becoming exposed. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>But airborne virus detection requires significant equipment to <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0174314">collect air samples and analyze them</a>. Other methods, such as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c02439">plasmonic photothermal biosensor</a>, provide promising results, but still require the user to perform the analysis. It will be some time before a smartwatch will be able to alert its wearer to the presence of a dangerous virus.</p>
<h2>Wearable and accessible</h2>
<p>For all the promise of wearables as tools to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, and future pandemics, there are barriers to widespread use of the devices. Most wearables are expensive, can be difficult to learn to use by non-native English speakers, or are developed without data from a broad population base. There’s a risk that <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.6494">many people won’t accept the technology</a>. </p>
<p>Continued development of broadly accepted health-based wearables should include community input, as outlined in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/23439">National Academies Workshop Summary</a>. By ensuring that everyone has access to wearables, and accepts them, the devices can help keep people healthy in the midst of a global pandemic. Ongoing research should result in improved technology that, with care, will benefit all of society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143388/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Albert H. Titus has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense. He has also received funding for research in this area from Garwood Medical Devices.
He is a Senior Member of the IEEE, a member of BMES, ASEE, and is a member of the BME Council of Chairs.</span></em></p>Fitness information like resting heart rate collected by wearable devices can’t diagnose diseases, but it can signal when something is wrong. That can be enough to prompt a COVID-19 test.Albert H. Titus, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University at BuffaloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1410522020-06-23T03:42:35Z2020-06-23T03:42:35ZEvery step you take: why Google’s plan to buy Fitbit has the ACCC’s pulse racing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343130/original/file-20200622-75522-5r1j5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=89%2C107%2C5901%2C3880&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailand-october-06-2018-view-1381312625">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/google%E2%80%99s-purchase-of-fitbit-raises-preliminary-competition-concerns">expressed concern</a> about Google’s <a href="https://investor.fitbit.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2019/Fitbit-to-Be-Acquired-by-Google/default.aspx">proposed acquisition</a> of fitness tracker company Fitbit. </p>
<p>The acquisition will let Google add years’ worth of Fitbit users’ data to its already unequalled consumer data collection. This could reduce competition in certain health services and other markets in Australia.</p>
<p>Google revealed its plans to acquire Fitbit Inc. for US$2.1 billion last November. But the deal will only go ahead if it gets clearance from competition regulators around the world. </p>
<p>While the ACCC is the first regulator globally to announce its concerns, the <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2020-06-16/eu-antitrust-regulators-set-july-20-deadline-for-google-fitbit-deal">European Commission</a> and <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/03/feds-ramp-up-probe-of-2-1b-google-fitbit-deal-amid-privacy-worries/">US Department of Justice</a> are also evaluating the deal. Both will likely take an interest in the ACCC’s views, for which <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/public-registers/mergers-registers/public-informal-merger-reviews/google-llc-proposed-acquisition-of-fitbit-inc">submissions are being accepted</a>.</p>
<h2>Collective concern is called for</h2>
<p>With more than <a href="https://investor.fitbit.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2019/Fitbit-to-Be-Acquired-by-Google/default.aspx">28 million people</a> using Fitbit wearable devices, many have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/05/fitbit-google-acquisition-health-data">raised concerns</a> about Google adding Fitbit’s sensitive data to its <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/google-tracks-you-privacy/">already extensive tracking</a> of consumers. </p>
<p>Google has left many <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-buying-fitbit-health-data-privacy">questions unanswered</a> about how it would use the data. Consumers have reason to be sceptical about Google’s <a href="https://blog.google/products/hardware/agreement-with-fitbit">privacy promises</a>, and the competitive effects of the merger. </p>
<h2>Sharing your intimate details</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.fitbit.com/legal/privacy-policy#info-we-collect">Fitbit collects</a> highly personal information, including sleep patterns, heart rate, active minutes, height and weight, date of birth, food logs, mobile number, biography and precise location data. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343364/original/file-20200623-188911-1pn8l2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">According to estimates by Forbes, Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman will each receive as much as US$150 million (before taxes) as a result of selling their shares in Fitbit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/techcrunch/48843669166/in/photolist-2hq9za1-2hq9zds-2hq9z2R-2hq7Fg5-2hqatFu-2hqatD5-2hq7DuV-gK72e8-gK85aV-v4bND4-onq9rn-K5d9iM-yF6L5x-yF2fNJ-HckB8b-K2cXLo-y1zRxj-yYpUqp-yWBmV9-yF2h3Y-MQCAUc-o4aupd-w1yGoX-oksFeJ-o4aGe3-yXChSp-yF2gwC-yXChcg-o4auZ1-o4aME4-yYpTJz-oiCtsm-oiCsUs-JXiS9P-o4aaab-okC9V5-JXj216-okCuEq-y1Jqi2-okEevr-oknxmr-o4arwE-okE3Hz-K5d7Nn-okEiRR-okEhDF-onqgXp-o4bAMZ-onqayT-okC7rY">TechCrunch/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For those using Fitbit’s live coaching services, it also collects wellness plans and goals, calendar events, and communications with a coach. If you’re a woman using “female health tracking”, data can also include your periods, fertile times, ovulation days and health symptoms. </p>
<p>The ACCC regards Fitbit data as having “<a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/public-registers/documents/Google%20Fitbit%20-%20Statement%20of%20Issues%20-%2018%20June%202020.pdf">unique attributes</a>”, noting that datasets from other wearable devices are “not as voluminous, reliable or broad”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-accc-is-suing-google-over-tracking-users-heres-why-it-matters-126020">The ACCC is suing Google over tracking users. Here's why it matters</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Google’s privacy reassurances are not binding</h2>
<p>Last November, Google and Fitbit were quick to <a href="https://investor.fitbit.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2019/Fitbit-to-Be-Acquired-by-Google/default.aspx">reassure consumers</a> that “Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads”. A Google spokesperson told The Conversation: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Similar to our other products, with wearables, we will be transparent about the data we collect and why. And we do not sell personal information to anyone.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, the ACCC points out <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/public-registers/documents/Google%20Fitbit%20-%20Statement%20of%20Issues%20-%2018%20June%202020.pdf">Google is not bound</a> by its commitment to not use the data in its advertising businesses. As the competition watchdog’s <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/digital-takeovers-transactions-may-harm-consumers">Chair Rod Sims</a> said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is a stretch to believe any commitment Google makes in relation to Fitbit users’ data will still be in place five years from now.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When Google acquired online advertising business DoubleClick, it reassured users it <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2016/10/google-changed-a-major-privacy-policy-and-no-one-really-noticed.html">would only combine personal data</a> from the two businesses if users opted into this combination. Eight years later, <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Digital%20platforms%20inquiry%20-%20final%20report.pdf">Google simply deleted this promise</a> from its privacy policy. </p>
<p>It’s also worth noting Google has not promised to refrain from using Fitbit data in its <em>non-advertising</em> businesses. This could include <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/50e1f042-06f3-11ea-a984-fbbacad9e7dd">health services</a> or, in future, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b7b3b08a-d4a3-11e9-8d46-8def889b4137">health or life insurance</a>. Google would not need to “sell” your data to use it for these commercial purposes.</p>
<h2>Google’s huge data advantage</h2>
<p>Google already has the most extensive collection of consumer data on the planet. This includes data from Google search, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Nest, Android and Google devices – as well as consumer data collected from millions of third-party websites using Google’s services such as Google Analytics, Google Ads and reCAPTCHA. </p>
<p>The ACCC acknowledges Google already uses its pervasive data collection to create <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/public-registers/documents/Google%20Fitbit%20-%20Statement%20of%20Issues%20-%2018%20June%202020.pdf">unique profiles of individual users</a>. It points out acquiring Fitbit would give Google “one of the largest and most detailed existing fitness and health datasets, as well as another avenue through which it can continue to gather consumer data”. </p>
<p>The ACCC is particularly concerned the proposed acquisition could substantially reduce competition between Fitbit, Google and others in “data-dependent health services” such as those supplying: </p>
<ul>
<li>tailored digital advice based on individual health signals to users of Fitbit and other wearables on how to improve their health or manage a medical condition</li>
<li>insights to insurance companies or employers wishing to compile risk profiles, reduce costs or enhance productivity </li>
<li>diagnostic tools for medical institutions and doctors to determine early indicators of chronic disease and</li>
<li>insights or raw data for health researchers. </li>
</ul>
<p>If Google acquires Fitbit’s user data, it could gain a significant advantage over other suppliers of these services and prevent them from accessing the dataset. </p>
<p>According to the ACCC, it could also have an incentive hinder rivals such as Apple, Samsung and Garmin, by removing their access to Google Maps, Google Play Store and Wear OS (a Google operating system for wearables).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/amazon-facebook-and-google-dont-need-to-spy-on-your-conversations-to-know-what-youre-talking-about-108792">Amazon, Facebook and Google don't need to spy on your conversations to know what you're talking about</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Entrenching Google’s power in digital advertising</h2>
<p>Google makes most of its annual revenue (more than US$100 billion) from online advertising services. Privacy advocates have <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3587239">criticised the ad tech industry</a>, including dominant players like Google and Facebook, for creating a “<a href="https://medium.com/clearcode/taming-the-wild-west-of-consumer-data-sharing-in-adtech-b3cab26adbe8">data free for all</a>” where consumers’ intimate information is exchanged between hundreds of companies engaged in targeted advertising.</p>
<p>The ACCC says it is concerned that by acquiring Fitbit’s datasets, Google could entrench its market power in certain ad tech markets. For example, it could “even more effectively target advertising to consumers with health-related issues”. </p>
<h2>What can the ACCC actually do about it?</h2>
<p>The ACCC plans to announce its final stance by mid-August on whether Google’s merger with Fitbit would contravene Australia’s competition legislation. If it decides the merger is likely to substantially lessen competition, it could seek orders from the Federal Court to prevent the merger.</p>
<p>But practically speaking, regulators will likely try to coordinate their response internationally, with the overall outcome decided in larger markets such as the United States and European Union. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2020-06-16/eu-antitrust-regulators-set-july-20-deadline-for-google-fitbit-deal">European Commission</a> is expected to release its ruling in July. And past <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/1096891.html">events indicate</a> the commission could impose conditions, or prevent the merger going ahead internationally – even if the US Department of Justice gives it the green light.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katharine Kemp receives funding from The Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation. She is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Future of Finance Initiative in India, the Centre for Law, Markets & Regulation and the Australian Privacy Foundation.</span></em></p>The watchdog has voiced concerns over the proposed US$2.1 billion merger, from which both users and Australian health services could lose out.Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW, and Academic Lead, UNSW Grand Challenge on Trust, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1398252020-06-09T12:14:45Z2020-06-09T12:14:45ZWorkplaces are turning to devices to monitor social distancing, but does the tech respect privacy?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340426/original/file-20200608-176560-e140vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C0%2C6720%2C4426&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Maintaining social distancing is a challenge as workplaces reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/coworkers-with-protective-face-masks-using-computer-royalty-free-image/1227193807?adppopup=true">miodrag ignjatovic/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we emerge from the coronavirus lockdown, those of us who still have a workplace may not recognize it. Businesses, eager to limit liability for employees and customers, are considering a <a href="https://www.workplaceprivacyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/162/2020/05/COVID-Technologies2.pdf">variety of emerging technologies</a> for limiting pandemic spread.</p>
<p>These technologies can be loosely divided into two types: one based on cellphone technologies and the other using wearable devices like electronic bracelets and watches. Both approaches focus on maintaining social distancing, nominally six feet between any two workers based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html">guidelines</a> and supported by <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/8/20-1093_article">some modeling</a>.</p>
<p>Most workers will have little choice whether to participate in their employer’s risk mitigation. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PpKoYdUAAAAJ&hl=en">networking and security researcher</a>, I believe that it is essential that both employees and employers understand the technologies in use, their effectiveness at reducing risk of infection and the risks they may pose to the privacy and well-being of all involved.</p>
<h2>The technologies</h2>
<p>Social distancing technologies are designed to warn workers when they get too close to each other, typically relying on communications that can travel only short distances. In this way, if your device can “hear” someone else’s device, you’re considered too close to the other person and potentially infected.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most promising communication technology for social distancing is ultra-wideband, which enables <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/UWBST.2002.1006336">precise distance measurements</a> between devices. A more common medium is Bluetooth Low Energy, which is used for headphones and portable speakers, though it may produce less <a href="https://github.com/DP-3T/documents/blob/master/DP3T%20-%20Exposure%20Score%20Calculation.pdf">consistently</a> <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1389140">accurate</a> distance information depending on the environment. </p>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://www.novid.org/">sound itself can be used</a> to determine distance to other people, much like bats use echoes to identify obstacles in their flight paths, with the advantage that it respects wall and door boundaries just like the coronavirus.</p>
<p>Modern cellphones typically can communicate through both Bluetooth Low Energy technologies and sound. <a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/ultra-wideband-information-iph771fd0aad/ios">Late model iPhones</a> also support ultra-wideband communications. </p>
<p>Contact tracing apps, which are used to alert people when they’ve been exposed to an infected person, generally use these media while loosely adhering to a <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.13670">common design</a>. They include approaches focusing on <a href="https://pact.mit.edu/">privacy</a> and <a href="https://github.com/DP-3T/documents">security</a>, or precise distance measurements using <a href="https://www.novid.org/">sound</a> outside of the human hearing range. More recently, Apple and Google jumped into the fray with their own <a href="https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/apple-and-google-partner-covid-19-contact-tracing-technology/">approach</a> that also solves some of the <a href="https://uynguyen.github.io/2018/07/23/Best-practice-How-to-deal-with-Bluetooth-Low-Energy-in-background/">technical challenges</a> that appear to <a href="https://github.com/opentrace-community/opentrace-ios/issues/4">require</a> the cooperation of the two tech giants.</p>
<p>Wearables, which are more limited devices that a person can wear like a <a href="https://accent-systems.com/">bracelet</a> or a <a href="https://ouraring.com/">ring</a>, can also be used for social distancing. Popular workplace wearables can be programmed to buzz or otherwise alert employees when they get within six feet of each other. These include <a href="https://www.proxxi.co/">Halo</a>, <a href="https://estimote.com/">Estimote</a> and <a href="https://romware.com/covid-radius/">Covid Radius</a>. Other devices monitor health indicators such as <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/covid-19-early-warning-system-for-medical-staff-developed-in-cork-1.4227423">pulse, body temperature</a> or <a href="https://www.blacklinesafety.com/contact-tracing">movement</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340425/original/file-20200608-176585-kajy0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340425/original/file-20200608-176585-kajy0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340425/original/file-20200608-176585-kajy0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340425/original/file-20200608-176585-kajy0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=819&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340425/original/file-20200608-176585-kajy0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340425/original/file-20200608-176585-kajy0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340425/original/file-20200608-176585-kajy0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A tugboat deckhand demonstrates a digital bracelet that flashes red when a coworker is too close to him.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-Corona-Bracelets/9957665e1ae2452dac7af5ded3c36a4c/2/0">AP Photo/Virginia Mayo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Will this help?</h2>
<p>Workplace social distancing products are designed to monitor the six-foot separation guideline of the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html">CDC</a>. This is a <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/one-meter-six-feet-how-social-distancing-guidelines-vary-across-countries-1.625118">crude measure</a> that is complicated in practice. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/us/coronavirus-time-risk/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2020-05-19T07%3A45%3A34&utm_term=link">How long</a> are people in contact? What kind of <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0764_article">air patterns</a> surrounded them? Were they wearing masks? Were they <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6919e6.htm">singing</a>?</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/8/20-1093_article">some modeling</a> suggests that even crude social distancing can help spread out infection rates over time to help with hospital load, digital contact tracing faces serious <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/11/1001541/iceland-rakning-c19-covid-contact-tracing/">challenges of adoption</a> – in order for an infectious contact to be recorded, both parties must be using the technology.</p>
<p>This means, for example, that if 50% of people in a work area – including mail deliverers, IT support and plumbers – adopt the technology, then approximately 25% of the infectious contacts might be identified. If the workplace is already a hot spot for infection, say a <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-meatpacking-plants-have-become-covid-19-hot-spots/">meatpacking facility</a>, then the technology only tells workers what they already know: There is widespread infection risk.</p>
<h2>What about privacy?</h2>
<p>Employers can already legally <a href="https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/labor">read employee emails</a>, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/other/privacy-america-electronic-monitoring">monitor calls</a> and record video of employees. What additional risk does contact tracing present?</p>
<p>The location data that is used by some contact tracing solutions can be intensely personal. It can identify, for example, with whom workers eat lunch or even what they purchased at the lunch counter. It can identify what fraction of the workday is spent by the water cooler, and even how often and for how long workers go to the bathroom. Without explicit safeguards, employees are forced to choose between keeping their jobs and maintaining their privacy.</p>
<p>Fortunately, some of the solutions do attempt to safeguard privacy in a variety of ways.</p>
<h2>Open tech, limited data</h2>
<p>It is important that data shared with the employer – or any other third party – should be anonymous and not tied to personal information. Indeed, several of the cellphone-based solutions only share randomly generated data that is useful only for contact tracing apps that tell the cellphone’s owner about potential exposures. Furthermore, some of the wearables do not use a central repository, instead sharing data only among themselves and deleting it after the infection window, typically 14 days.</p>
<p>Some of the technologies prevent employers from accessing employee contact history. In these approaches, only employees who have been near an infected individual are alerted, either through physical feedback like a vibrating buzz or through alerts on their smartphones. Employers are naturally anxious to get a broad picture of worker health, but the greater insight necessarily intrudes on privacy. I believe the ideal scenario is where the worker – and no one else – knows only that he has been exposed to the virus at some recent time, not when, where or by whom.</p>
<p>It may be very difficult for employees to understand what kind of privacy a social distancing system provides without knowing how it operates. Many of the existing products on the market are open-source, meaning that anyone can view and analyze at least some of their code. Some also make all contact information publicly visible, albeit obfuscated, so that there is no mystery about what data is being collected and used.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, social distancing technologies can help protect employees in a post-COVID world. However, absent <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/02/1002491/us-covid-19-contact-tracing-privacy-law-apple-google/">well-crafted privacy law</a>, both employees and employers must understand broadly how these technologies work, their limitations and their capabilities.</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-favorite">Weekly on Wednesdays</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139825/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ari Trachtenberg works for Boston University. Some of the ideas mentioned in this article came out of discussions with colleagues (Mayank Varia, David Starobinski, Ran Canetti, Renato Mancuso, Rich West, Gerald Denis and Anand Devaiah) and students (Maha Ashour, Sean Brandenburg, Nadim El Helou, Manan Monga, Novak Boskov) as part of a project to develop a contact tracing app.
Some of his research is supported by a DARPA saeedline grant and National Science Foundation Grant No. 1563753; any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of DARPA or the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Novak Boskov is a doctoral student at Boston University. Some of his
research is supported by the National Science Foundation. Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in
this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>Smartphone apps and wearable devices can tell when workers have been within six feet of each other, promising to help curb the coronavirus. But they’re not all the same when it comes to privacy.Ari Trachtenberg, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, and Computer Science, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1368312020-04-22T18:45:02Z2020-04-22T18:45:02ZA smart second skin gets all the power it needs from sweat<p><em>The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Skin is the largest organ of the human body. It conveys a lot of information, including temperature, pressure, pleasure and pain. Electronic skin (e-skin) mimics the properties of biological skin. Recently developed e-skins are capable of wirelessly monitoring physiological signals. They could play a crucial role in the next generation of robotics and medical devices. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.gao.caltech.edu/">My lab at Caltech</a> is interested in studying human biology and monitoring human health by using advanced bioelectronic devices. The e-skin we have developed not only analyzes the chemical and molecular composition of human sweat, it’s <a href="http://robotics.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.aaz7946">fully powered by chemicals in sweat</a>.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Existing e-skins and wearable devices primarily focus on monitoring physiological parameters like heart rate and can’t assess health information at the molecular level. Moreover, they typically require batteries to power them, and the batteries need to be recharged frequently.</p>
<p>Despite recent efforts to harvest energy from the human body, there are no reports of self-powered e-skins that are able to perform biosensing and transmit the information via standard Bluetooth wireless communications. This comes down to the lack of power efficiency. There is a need for a self-powered device that can continuously collect molecular as well as physical information and wirelessly transmit the information to other devices.</p>
<h2>How we do this work</h2>
<p>The approach we take to harvesting energy from the human body is based on biofuel cells. Fuel cells convert chemical energy to electricity. The biofuel cells we developed for our e-skin convert the lactic acid in human sweat to electricity. In addition to the biofuel cells, the e-skin contains biosensors that can analyze metabolic information like glucose, urea and pH levels, to monitor for diabetes, ischaemia another health conditions, as well as physical information like skin temperature. The e-skin, made of soft materials and attached to a person’s skin, performs real-time biosensing, powered solely by sweat.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329621/original/file-20200422-82699-uzmg0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329621/original/file-20200422-82699-uzmg0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329621/original/file-20200422-82699-uzmg0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329621/original/file-20200422-82699-uzmg0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329621/original/file-20200422-82699-uzmg0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329621/original/file-20200422-82699-uzmg0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329621/original/file-20200422-82699-uzmg0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The sweat-powered biofuel cells in this electronic skin provide enough electricity to power biological sensors and transmit the information wirelessly to other devices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yu et al., Sci. Robot. 5, eaaz7946 (2020)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Previously developed wearable biofuel cells <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/elan.201600019">don’t produce a lot of power</a> and aren’t very stable. We greatly improved the power output and stability of the biofuel cells by using novel nanomaterials for the cell’s two electrodes. The cathode of our biofuel cell is composed of a mesh of carbon nanotubes decorated with nanoparticles containing platinum and cobalt. The anode is a nanocomposite material that contains an enzyme that breaks down lactic acid. </p>
<p>The biofuel cells can generate a continuous, stable output as high as several milliwatts per square centimeter over multiple days in human sweat. That’s enough to power the biosensors as well as wireless communication. We demonstrated our e-skin by monitoring glucose, pH, ammonium ions and urea levels in studies using human subjects. We also used our e-skin as a human-machine interface to control the motion of a robotic arm and a prosthetic leg.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We plan to further improve the power output of the biofuel cells and integrate different biosensors. The development of fully self-powered e-skin opens the door to numerous robotic and wearable health care possibilities. Wearable sensor arrays could be used for health monitoring, early disease diagnosis and potentially nutritional intervention. In addition, self-powered e-skin could be used to design and optimize next generation prosthetics.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wei Gao receives funding from the National Institute of Health. </span></em></p>Lightweight, flexible materials can be used to make health-monitoring wearable devices, but powering the devices is a challenge. Using fuel cells instead of batteries could make the difference.Wei Gao, Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering, California Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1297342020-01-24T11:41:49Z2020-01-24T11:41:49ZBosses using tech to spy on staff is becoming the norm, so here’s a realistic way of handling it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311159/original/file-20200121-117962-8ljl32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gotcha. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/employee-monitoring-workplace-surveillance-concept-group-747181753">Lightspring</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Workplace surveillance sounds like the stuff of nightmares, but we are having to get used to it. In a sign of the times, the European Court of Human Rights <a href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7293ae72-a731-4379-9107-8cfcc3251608">has just ruled</a> that a supermarket in Barcelona was entitled to fire employees after catching them stealing on CCTV cameras that they didn’t know were installed. This overturned a decision by the court’s lower chamber that the cameras had breached the employees’ <a href="https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf">human rights</a>. </p>
<p>Yet hidden cameras are almost quaint compared to some of the ways in which employers are now monitoring their staff. They are resorting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/workplace-surveillance-employee-monitoring-methods-ways-face-scanning-microchips-big-data-2019-9">to everything</a> from software that digitally scans workers’ emails to smart name badges that track their whereabouts. There are even <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28560-head-tracker-knows-what-youre-doing-and-helps-you-multitask/">head scanners</a> in development that can monitor workers’ levels of concentration. According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/workplace-surveillance-employee-monitoring-methods-ways-face-scanning-microchips-big-data-2019-9">one recent analysis</a>, around half of employers are using some form of non-traditional surveillance on staff, and the numbers are growing fast. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310661/original/file-20200117-118359-1tm0rss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Big Brother is paying you.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/laptop-computer-being-watched-office-by-290998688">Brian A Jackson</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even tech employees are getting worried – witness Google workers <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614623/google-spying-employees-calendar-extension-surveillance-workplace-labor-law-nlra-nlrb/">recently accusing</a> their employer of building a browser extension to automatically notify managers about anyone attempting to arrange staff meetings. They claimed that it was intended to prevent staff from potentially trying to form a union. The <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/23/20929524/google-surveillance-tool-accused-employee-activism-protests-union-organizing">company denied</a> the accusations. </p>
<p>But if high-tech workplace surveillance is looking more and more unavoidable, what should we do about it? Before we go any further down this road, it’s time to weigh up the possibilities. </p>
<h2>The Man is everywhere</h2>
<p>Many <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/i%E2%80%99ll-be-watching-you">fear</a> that technologies like wearable tech, digital cameras and artificial intelligence <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/15/the-dominos-pizza-checker-is-just-the-beginning-workplace-surveillance-is-coming-for-you">are turbocharging</a> staff <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/2019/02/01/new-means-of-workplace-surveillance/">monitoring</a>. Some would probably ban such practices outright. After all, most of us want to be free to do our work as we see fit. Yet in reality, employers have always monitored how workers perform. Why ban the new technology and not all such practices? The obvious answer is that we can’t: if all forms of monitoring were banned, how would organisations even function?</p>
<p>Even just to repel the newer forms of workplace surveillance will require huge sustained pressure on politicians and corporations. This seems unlikely, particularly when the culture is already established: most of us are willing to share our lives with the world via social media and allow tech corporations to harvest the data in exchange. </p>
<p>One compromise might be to only allow workplace surveillance where workers opt in. But what would stop employers from insisting that workers sign a consent form as a requirement of the job? You could ban companies from making this mandatory, but it probably wouldn’t work. Workers would still fear that not signing would reduce their job security and cause them to miss out on promotions and other opportunities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310663/original/file-20200117-118337-wgexrh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Wait till I get my hands on worker A651B’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/business-person-holding-long-paper-do-1464579962">Leremy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What about regulating the technology? Allowing it only to enhance employee wellbeing and not to monitor productivity, for instance. Such rules might be possible, but they will mean difficult compromises. One option would be to allow employees access to whatever information is gathered on them, for example.</p>
<p>On balance, well designed regulations and constant vigilance against abuses and workers’ rights being eroded is probably about the best we can hope for. Just as you can’t uninvent the atom bomb, you can’t easily put surveillance technology back in its box. If this sounds very stoical, it is also worth reflecting on a few possible consolations. </p>
<h2>Diamonds in the dirt?</h2>
<p>The firms that develop surveillance software <a href="https://blog.statustoday.com/so-you-care-about-employee-wellness-prove-it-44650a535762">often emphasise</a> the potential for tracking employer wellbeing. We shouldn’t dismiss this too easily. Is it possible that it could catch instances where workers are unhappy or depressed and enable an employer to react appropriately, for example? Could it even spot someone who is suicidal and help instigate a crucial intervention?</p>
<p>Equally, some uses of new technology might actually be less objectionable than existing practices. If AI is being used to monitor your facial expressions or to gauge your attitude from the tone of your voice, it might have fewer biases than a human manager. It won’t make judgements because it is feeling threatened or doesn’t like you and it certainly won’t be lecherous towards you. It might just be that workers can learn to play these things to their advantage. </p>
<p>Also, let’s not forget that the main aim of monitoring employees is to make them more productive. People might actually be willing to sign up for some form of high-tech monitoring if they knew it was likely to improve their productivity. If it showed them ways to make more money for every hour they worked, for example, that might be attractive to them. There might be an analogy here in the ways in which athletes use different monitors to improve their performance. </p>
<p>If people were made more productive in enough workplaces, it should increase national and even global economic productivity. This is what drives economic growth. It should then lead to higher pay, greater profits and more reinvestment in jobs and innovation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310662/original/file-20200117-118359-8hkjym.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fitter, happier, more productive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/workplace-security-guard-watching-video-surveillance-338044973">Marharyta Pavliuk</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You might counter that these economic gains will be concentrated towards the few, trickling up rather than down. The rest of us might just feel more observed and more stressed. This is certainly a risk. But maybe it could be mitigated if the monitoring also underpinned a more progressive tax system that redistributed the gains from this technology to lower paid workers. </p>
<p>I have argued elsewhere that it would be better to tax people according to their hourly income than their annual earnings. For reasons I <a href="https://dougstaxappeal.blogspot.com/2014/08/what-is-hourly-averaging.html">explain here</a>, it would allow you to pay higher wages to lower paid workers and to put a greater share of the tax burden on higher paid workers without taking away their incentive to work harder. </p>
<p>One of the main objections to such a system is that it’s hard to check whether everyone is working the number of hours that they claim. Government access to workplace surveillance data could be used to verify this. And this takes me back to my broader point: if we can’t beat the rise of employee surveillance, we must find ways to make the best of it instead. The private sector tends to lead the way in developing and exploiting technology for profit; workplace surveillance could be harnessed to distribute economic gains more equitably.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129734/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Douglas Bamford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From wearables with monitoring chips to face scanners that assess your contentment, workplace surveillance seems to be going in one direction.Douglas Bamford, Tutor in Philosophy and Political Economy, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1285852020-01-15T13:54:52Z2020-01-15T13:54:52ZWhy fitness trackers may not give you all the ‘credit’ you hoped for<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310080/original/file-20200114-93792-nu0yk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=144%2C99%2C5862%2C3539&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wearable fitness trackers have less accuracy when used in certain ways.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/female-athlete-royalty-free-image/943022276?adppopup=true">bogdankosanovic/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>January is a time when many people make resolutions – and then break them. <a href="https://www.apaservices.org/practice/update/2012/02-23/willpower">Almost 60% of Americans will resolve to exercise more</a>, but <a href="https://advanced-hindsight.com/blog/a-new-years-resolution-for-you-exercise-for-pleasure-and-enjoyment/">fewer than 10% will stick with their resolution</a>. A key to keeping resolutions is ensuring they are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/guides/smarterliving/resolution-ideas">measurable</a>, and a simple way to track activity is through <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/paullamkin/2018/10/23/smart-wearables-market-to-double-by-2022-27-billion-industry-forecast/#596130522656">a wearable smartwatch or fitness tracker</a>. Indeed, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189298">almost one in five adults has used a fitness tracker</a>.</p>
<p>Wearable fitness trackers can also help improve medical care by providing insights into physical activity, heart rate, location and sleep patterns. My <a href="https://wphomes.soic.indiana.edu/ksiek/">research team</a> uses wearable fitness tracker data with smart home sensors to help <a href="https://crihomeshare.wordpress.com/">older adults live safely and independently</a>. We also study wearable fitness tracker data along with electronic medical records and genomic data to <a href="https://precisionhealth.iu.edu/current-studies/hoosier-moms.html">investigate the causes of gestational diabetes</a>. Many <a href="https://allofus.nih.gov/news-events-and-media/announcements/all-us-research-program-expands-data-collection-efforts-fitbit">other researchers</a> utilize wearable fitness trackers to better understand how lifestyles can impact health.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I’ve found in my health informatics research that wearable devices may not give all the credit their users deserve, and in some cases, users may want to consider how secure and private their data is.</p>
<h2>Giving credit when it’s due</h2>
<p>People who use fitness trackers have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/1124772.1124840">frustrated with how they get “credit” for their activities</a>, which drives some users to <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1145/2750858.2807554">abandon fitness trackers</a>. In my research team’s work, we find that people who have limited arm movement report that fitness trackers are not accurately recording their activities. This can happen as well with those who do not have traditional gaits because they may shuffle.</p>
<p>The lack of credit is especially obvious when people are walking but keeping their arms still – such as pushing a stroller or walking while holding an infant. New mothers also report accuracy issues with respect to their sleep patterns. When they wake up multiple times a night, the next morning the device will show them as “lightly sleeping.” This is frustrating when the new mother wants to use this data to negotiate with her partner on child care because a device may credit the mother with more sleep than she actually gets. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310068/original/file-20200114-151829-14mw9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310068/original/file-20200114-151829-14mw9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310068/original/file-20200114-151829-14mw9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310068/original/file-20200114-151829-14mw9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310068/original/file-20200114-151829-14mw9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310068/original/file-20200114-151829-14mw9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310068/original/file-20200114-151829-14mw9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Were you ‘lightly sleeping’ or did you wake up multiple times?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">fizkes/iStock via Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These inaccuracies make sense from a technical point of view. When people keep their wrists still, as in pushing a stroller, the wrist is not changing directions. Thus, the software cannot detect changes in movement from the accelerometer sensor on a wrist tracker which is looking for changes in up-down, forward-backward and side-to-side movements. Researchers have also shown that <a href="https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3025690">500 or fewer steps can be recorded without wearing the device</a>, reflecting how devices can over count activity sometimes. In the case of detecting sleep, most people do not wake up multiple times a night, so the algorithms used by wearable devices may throw these short bursts of movement away. </p>
<p>The companies that make these wearable devices have significant intellectual property involved in detecting these movements and then using algorithms to decide how much people are moving or sleeping, so these algorithms are not shared publicly. There currently do not exist any mechanisms to give feedback on what was detected. Imagine if a person could push a button and tell a wearable fitness device, “I did wake up three times tonight!”</p>
<p>Since people are not getting the credit they deserve for some of their activities, I am concerned about what type of lifestyle data we researchers can accurately assess from a commodity wearable for our health research. In computing, there is a saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” If wearable fitness trackers are putting inaccurate step and sleep data into the algorithms that quantify our activities, then people will be making health-related decisions based on inaccurate data.</p>
<h2>Who has the data?</h2>
<p>Typically, consumers assess how much “credit” they are getting from a fitness tracker by transferring the data to an app. Most people likely assume that when people transfer the data to the app, the data is not shared widely. Users may assume, for instance, that they can see the data, people they shared data with can view it and the company who has the device and app can see the data. But this is only part of the story.</p>
<p>A company, however, could change its terms of service – which, studies have shown, <a href="https://cmci.colorado.edu/%7Ecafi5706/CSCW2016_Fiesler.pdf">people have difficulty understanding</a> – and decide to make this health data available to third parties. For example, wearable fitness data could be sold to help our employers understand our <a href="https://www.wsj.com/graphics/company-tracking-employees/">fitness and productivity</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-your-fitbit-data-be-used-to-deny-you-health-insurance-72565">insurance companies to assist with or deny health coverage</a>. Although there’s no evidence of this practice being done, I believe consumers would do well to be aware that it is a possibility in the future. </p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Siek receives funding from Indiana University Precision Health Initiative. </span></em></p>A health informatics researcher explains why people don’t always get the ‘credit’ they think they should from using wearable fitness trackers.Katie Siek, Associate Professor of Informatics, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1240662019-12-18T13:36:55Z2019-12-18T13:36:55ZTracking your heart rate? 5 questions answered about what that number really means<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307532/original/file-20191217-58315-1g956jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=286%2C429%2C5696%2C3922&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's one of your body's most basic vital signs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-human-hand-wearing-smart-watch-471411131">Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rise of <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/wearable-technology-5180">wearable fitness trackers</a> has increased the number of people monitoring their heart rate, both throughout the day and during exercise.</p>
<p>Whether you’re an athlete trying to gain the <a href="https://theconversation.com/wearable-technologies-help-olympians-achieve-top-performance-91721">competitive edge</a>, a weekend warrior tracking progress or someone who is just trying to improve your health, consider heart rate a valuable tool in understanding the work of your amazing body as it achieves those first steps, that next 5K or even Olympic gold.</p>
<p>Heart rate is one of your body’s most basic vital signs, yet many people have questions about what heart rate really tells them. What should your target heart rate be during exercise? Does it even matter?</p>
<h2>1. What is your heart rate?</h2>
<p>First, the basics: Your <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/the-facts-about-high-blood-pressure/all-about-heart-rate-pulse">heart rate</a>, also sometimes called your pulse rate, is the number of times your heart contracts per minute.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307533/original/file-20191217-58315-jp3dc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The left ventricle does the bulk of the work, pumping your blood through your aorta off to the rest of your body.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/circulation-blood-through-heart-cross-sectional-1044399025">Olga Bolbot/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uXcM0scAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Physiologists like me</a> focus on the contractions of the left ventricle, the chamber of the heart that generates pressure to drive blood out through the aorta and on to the entire body. The heart’s pumping capacity directly relates to its ability to deliver oxygen to the body’s organs.</p>
<p>If you’re running up the stairs or hauling something heavy, your muscles and organs are going to need more oxygen to help power your actions. And so your heart beats faster.</p>
<h2>2. How do you measure heart rate?</h2>
<p>The easiest way to measure heart rate is <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-check-heart-rate#target-heart-rates">to find your pulse</a> and count the number of pulses felt over the course of one minute.</p>
<p>In adults, the best places to feel for a pulse are large arteries that are near the surface of the skin, such as the carotid at the side of your neck or the radial on the underside of your wrist. If feeling for the carotid pulse, don’t press hard enough to disrupt blood flow to and from the head.</p>
<p>More recently, watches and other wrist-based fitness monitors have incorporated optical sensors to track heart rate. These <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204666">wearable devices</a> use technology called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/0967-3334/28/3/R01">photoplethysmography</a>, which has been around since the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-9155/19/3/003">mid-1970s</a>. Each beat of your heart sends a little surge of blood through your veins. The monitor detects this by shining green light onto your skin and then analyzing the light that gets refracted back by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/blood-in-your-veins-is-not-blue-heres-why-its-always-red-97064">red blood flowing underneath</a>. </p>
<p>This kind of heart-rate monitoring is popular, but it has <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-heart-rate-monitors-give-less-reliable-readings-for-people-of-colour-121007">shortcomings for people with dark skin</a>.</p>
<p>Some exercisers rely on chest straps that measure electrical activity and then transmit that signal to a watch or other display device. This technique depends on picking up the electrical signals within your body that direct your heart to beat.</p>
<p>For the most part, the two techniques are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-018-0098-0">about equally accurate</a>.</p>
<h2>3. What controls your heart rate?</h2>
<p>Your autonomic nervous system is mostly in charge of your heart rate. That’s the portion of the nervous system that runs without your even thinking about it.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/hrt.2005.079400">healthy hearts</a>, as someone begins to exercise, the autonomic nervous system does two things. First, it removes the “brake” that keeps your heart beating slowly and steadily under normal conditions. And then it “hits the gas” to actively stimulate the heart to beat faster.</p>
<p>In addition, the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle with each heart beat – called the stroke volume – increases, particularly during the initial stages of exercise. </p>
<p>Together, higher stroke volume and more beats per minute mean the amount of blood delivered by the heart increases to match the increased oxygen demand of exercising muscles.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1101%2C0%2C6247%2C4869&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1101%2C0%2C6247%2C4869&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307525/original/file-20191217-58292-13hdxry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Working hard or hardly working?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sport-watch-run-woman-checking-smartwatch-713507023">Maridav/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. How does heart rate relate to exercise intensity?</h2>
<p>As your exercise session becomes more intense and more work is done, your heart beats faster and faster. This relationship means you can use heart rate as a surrogate measure for the intensity of exertion, relative to one’s maximal heart rate.</p>
<p>Your maximum heart rate is the fastest your heart can functionally beat. So how do you know what your number actually is?</p>
<p>In order to determine your maximum heart rate, you could do increasingly difficult exercise, like walking on a treadmill and increasing the grade each minute, until you can no longer keep up. But it’s much more common (and often safer!) to estimate it. Many studies have identified that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2188839">maximal heart rate goes down with age</a>, and thus age is included in all estimation equations.</p>
<p>The most common and simplest prediction equation is: Maximal heart rate is equal to 220 minus your age. From that number, you can calculate a percentage of maximum to provide <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates">target heart rate ranges</a> in the moderate (50%-70%) or vigorous (70%-85%) categories of exercise, important in terms of meeting the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/index.htm">recommended levels of exercise</a> for overall health benefits.</p>
<p><iframe id="nRCoQ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/nRCoQ/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Interestingly, this equation, while perhaps most common, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237258265_The_surprising_history_of_the_HRmax220-age_equation">wasn’t based upon empirical research</a> and is not as accurate as others you can try, like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(00)01054-8">your age multiplied by 0.7 and then subtracted from 208</a>.</p>
<p>As with any prediction equation, there is always some individual variability. To accurately know your max heart rate at your current age, you’d need to measure it during maximal exercise.</p>
<h2>5. Why is exercise intensity important?</h2>
<p>In addition to helping you to know whether you’re meeting general recommendations for exercise, knowing the intensity of a given workout session can be of benefit in other ways.</p>
<p>First, the body uses different primary sources of energy to fuel exercise of different relative intensities. During lower-intensity exercise, a greater proportion of the energy you’re using comes from fat sources in your body. During higher-intensity exercise, more of the energy utilized comes from carbohydrate sources.</p>
<p>But don’t slow that treadmill down just yet if you’re hoping to drop pounds of fat. Lower-intensity exercise also requires less energy overall. So, to burn the same amount of calories with lower-intensity exercise, you’ll need to exercise for longer than you would at a higher intensity.</p>
<p>Secondly, the intensity of a set amount of work – like a particular speed/grade combo on the treadmill, or a certain wattage on a rowing ergometer – reflects your overall fitness. Once you can complete the same amount of work at a lower relative intensity – like if you can run a mile in the same amount of time but with your heart beating slower than it did in the past – you know you’ve gained fitness. And increased fitness is associated with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3605">decrease in death from any cause</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne R. Crecelius does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trying a new exercise routine? Strapping on a new wearable monitor? An expert in human physiology explains the ins and outs of your heart rate and why it’s a valuable number to understand.Anne R. Crecelius, Associate Professor of Health and Sport Science, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1243442019-11-07T12:16:20Z2019-11-07T12:16:20ZSoft robots of the future may depend on new materials that conduct electricity, sense damage and self-heal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299922/original/file-20191101-88372-1kt2aco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=262%2C34%2C1076%2C644&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Interactions between people and machines continue to increase.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tecnalia/14109734238/">Tecnalia/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Robots used to be restricted to heavy lifting or fine detail work in factories. Now Boston Dynamics’ nimble <a href="https://www.bostondynamics.com/spot">four-legged robot, Spot</a>, is available for companies to lease to carry out various real-world jobs, a sign of just how common interactions between humans and machines have become in recent years.</p>
<p>And while Spot is versatile and robust, it’s what society thinks of as a traditional robot, a mix of metal and hard plastic. Many researchers are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.201800477">convinced that</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/11/504953475/behold-a-robot-hand-with-a-soft-touch">soft robots</a> capable of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0024-1">safe physical interaction</a> with people – for example, providing in-home assistance by gripping and moving objects – will join hard robots to populate the future.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295033/original/file-20191001-173369-1y7qpg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Soft multifunctional materials will be used in soft robotics and wearable computers, for example, and will perform many different tasks simultaneously.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Ford</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Soft robotics and wearable computers, both technologies that are safe for human interaction, will demand new types of materials that are soft and stretchable and perform a wide variety of functions. My colleagues and I at the <a href="http://sml.me.cmu.edu/">Soft Machines Lab</a> at Carnegie Mellon University develop these multifunctional materials. <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/me/malen/Lab_Website/Home.html">Along with</a> <a href="https://warelab.co/people/">collaborators</a>, we’ve recently developed one such material that uniquely combines the properties of metals, soft rubbers and shape memory materials. </p>
<p>These soft multifunctional materials, as we call them, conduct electricity, detect damage and heal themselves. They also can sense touch and change their shape and stiffness in response to electrical stimulation, like an artificial muscle. In many ways, it’s what the pioneering researchers <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Iky0yNkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kaushik Bhattacharya</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gIS0-ekAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">Richard James</a> described: “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1100892">the material is the machine</a>.” </p>
<h2>Making materials intelligent</h2>
<p>This idea that the material is the machine can be captured in the concept of <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/how-body-shapes-way-we-think">embodied intelligence</a>. This term is usually used to describe a system of materials that are interconnected, like tendons in the knee. When running, tendons can stretch and relax to adapt each time the foot strikes the ground, without the need for any neural control.</p>
<p>It’s also possible to think of embodied intelligence in a single material – one that can sense, process and respond to its environment without embedded electronic devices like sensors and processing units.</p>
<p>A simple example is rubber. At the molecular level, rubber contains strings of molecules that are coiled up and linked together. Stretching or compressing rubber moves and uncoils the strings, but their links force the rubber to bounce back to its original position without permanently deforming. The ability for rubber to “know” its original shape is contained within the material structure.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300339/original/file-20191105-88372-7sgbvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A soft robot with a stretchable and electrically conductive circuit that is self-healing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Soft Machines Lab</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Since engineered materials of the future that are suitable for human-machine interaction will require multifunctionality, researchers have tried to build new levels of embodied intelligence – beyond just stretching – into materials like rubber. Recently, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-018-0084-7">my coworkers created self-healing circuits</a> embedded in rubber.</p>
<p>They started by dispersing micro-scale liquid metal droplets wrapped in an electrically insulating “skin” throughout silicone rubber. In its original state, the skin’s thin metal oxide layer prevents the metal droplets from conducting electricity.</p>
<p>However, if the metal-embedded rubber is subjected to enough force, the droplets will rupture and coalesce to form electrically conductive pathways. Any electrical lines printed in that rubber become self-healing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201900160">In a separate study</a>, they showed that the mechanism for self-healing could also be used to detect damage. New electrical lines form in the areas that are damaged. If an electrical signal gets through, that indicates the damage.</p>
<p>The combination of liquid metal and rubber gave the material a new route to sense and process its environment – that is, a new form of embodied intelligence. The rearrangement of the liquid metal allows the material to “know” when damage has occurred because of an electrical response.</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Liquid crystal elastomers are a type of shape memory material that can be programmed into a specific shape, like this 3-D face, and then reversibly transform into another shape, such as a flat sheet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://news.rice.edu/2018/12/20/mighty-morphing-materials-take-complex-shapes/">Jeff Fitlow/Rice University</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Shape memory is another example of embodied intelligence in materials. It means materials can reversibly change to a prescribed form. Shape memory materials are good candidates for linear motion in soft robotics, able to move back and forth like your bicep muscle. But they also offer unique and complex shape-changing capabilities.</p>
<p>For example, two groups of materials scientists recently demonstrated how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C8SM02174K">a class of materials</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1804702115">could reversibly transform</a> from a flat rubber-like sheet into a 3-D topographical map of a face. It’s a feat that would be difficult with traditional motors and gears, but it’s simple for this class of materials due to the material’s embodied intelligence. The researchers used a class of materials known as liquid crystal elastomers, which are sometimes described as artificial muscles because they can extend and contract with the application of a stimulus like heat, light, or electricity.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SpBrlmwwj30?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A new soft artificial muscle.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Putting it all together</h2>
<p>By drawing inspiration from the liquid metal composite and the shape-morphing material, my colleagues and I recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1911021116">created a soft composite with unprecedented multifunctionality</a>.</p>
<p>It is soft and stretchable, and it can conduct heat and electricity. It can actively change its shape, unlike regular rubber. Since our composite easily conducts electricity, the shape-morphing can be activated electrically. Since it is soft and deformable, it is also resilient to significant damage. Because it can conduct electricity, the composite can interface with traditional electronics and dynamically respond to touch. </p>
<p>Furthermore, our composite can heal itself and detect damage in a whole new way. Damage creates new electrically conductive lines that activate shape-morphing in the material. The composite responds by spontaneously contracting when punctured.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295031/original/file-20191001-173358-1ffxm3c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Top: The damage-sensing composite is connected to a light-emitting diode to indicate that conductivity is active. When the damage is severe enough, new conductive pathways form. The new conductive pathways cause the composite to ‘respond’ by actuating. Bottom: The composite can reversibly morph in complex ways, like this dome that flattens when activated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1911021116">Ford et al, PNAS October 22, 2019 116 (43) 21438-21444</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>In the movie “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103064/">Terminator 2: Judgment Day</a>,” the shape-shifting android T-1000 can liquify; can change shape, color, and texture; is immune to mechanical damage; and displays superhuman strength. Such a complex robot requires complex multifunctional materials. Now, materials that can sense, process and respond to their environment like these shape-morphing composites are starting to become a reality.</p>
<p>But unlike T-1000 these new materials aren’t a force for evil – they’re paving the way for soft assistive devices like prosthetics, companion robots, remote exploration technologies, antennas that can change shape and plenty more applications that engineers haven’t even dreamed up yet.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124344/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Ford works for the Smart Machines Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. He receives funding from the US Army Research Office.</span></em></p>Engineers predict a time when people and robots physically interact all day long. For that to happen safely will require new soft materials that can do things like sense touch and change shape.Michael Ford, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Materials Engineering, Carnegie Mellon UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1230112019-09-29T19:55:19Z2019-09-29T19:55:19ZAnti-rape devices may have their uses, but they don’t address the ultimate problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293357/original/file-20190920-50963-1ran02a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=398%2C23%2C4758%2C3438&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology can help crime victims deal with the situation - but the best solution is to avoid people being victims in the first place.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Crime prevention initiatives targeting sexual violence are by no means new. But as technology advances and costs decrease, we are seeing an abundance of digital and technological strategies emerge. </p>
<p>Last month, an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-30/japanese-anti-groping-stamp-sells-out-within-an-hour/11466246">invisible anti-groping stamp</a> sold out within an hour of its launch in Japan. </p>
<p>The stamp can be used by victims to mark someone who gropes them on public transport. This mark can only be seen when a black light (that comes with the device) is cast over it.</p>
<p>But we need to ask: are apps, wearables and virtual reality programs really reducing incidents, improving safety or transforming responses to harm? </p>
<p>Ultimately, there can be benefits to using technology to prevent sexual violence, but we must also encourage social shifts that tackle the heart of the problem.</p>
<h2>Wearables and devices</h2>
<p>Anti-rape wear, promoted as “<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ar-wear-confidence-protection-that-can-be-worn#/">wearable protection for when things go wrong</a>”, was introduced to the market around 2013. </p>
<p>Designed to be worn by women, anti-rape underwear and shorts are resistant to attempts at cutting, tearing and pulling. Some designs have a coded padlock and siren which sounds if someone tries to forcibly remove the clothing. Sirens can also be activated on demand. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-women-are-harmed-by-calling-sexual-assault-locker-room-talk-67422">How women are harmed by calling sexual assault 'locker room talk'</a>
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<p>Anti-vaginal penetration devices have also been designed. <a href="https://rape-axe.com">Rape-aXe</a>, introduced in 2010, is a “female latex condom” with rows of serrated “teeth” that <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/20/south.africa.female.condom/index.html">latch onto a penis during penetration</a>.</p>
<p>In 2014, undergraduate students at North Carolina University began promoting the <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/undercover-colors/">Undercover Colors</a> nail polish. The polish supposedly changes colour when dipped into a drink laced with date-rape drugs such as GHB, Rohypnol or Xanax. </p>
<p>The team now involved with the company has since launched <a href="https://www.undercovercolors.com/">SipChip</a>, a “coin-sized drug test” on a <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/definition/3998/key-fob">key fob</a> that can be slipped into a pocket or fixed onto a phone cover.</p>
<p>Ideally, these tests can be carried out discretely. </p>
<h2>Fundamental flaws</h2>
<p>Overwhelmingly, these digital devices are targeted at possible victims (typically women), asking them to assume responsibility for own their safety and management of risk. But as <a href="http://renabivens.com/">critics have noted</a>, they can reinforce misconceptions about sexual violence instead of challenging them. </p>
<p>Victim-blaming of those who have experienced sexual assault is unfortunately common. It occurs in a variety of domains, including in the media, community, and criminal justice settings. </p>
<p>All too often, victim/survivors are asked what they might have done to facilitate or provoke an attack. In expecting women to control their bodies and environments with the help of anti-rape devices, the question of “what were you wearing” could be reframed as “what anti-rape devices were you wearing?”. </p>
<p>“How much did you drink” could turn into “did you check the drink was drugged?”. </p>
<p>The constant vigilance expected of women cannot be overlooked. </p>
<p>Anti-rape apps and devices are specifically designed to intervene in risky situations. They can potentially be valuable in preventing particular incidents. </p>
<p>But such measures may only deter perpetrators from harming one person, not necessarily from harming others, or attacking the target at another time. </p>
<h2>Problematic perspectives</h2>
<p>Assaults on public transport and in public spaces are undoubtedly an issue. But focusing on the “unknown” danger from strangers can take away focus from the higher level of sexual violence enacted by acquaintances, friends, dates, and intimate partners - often in private places. </p>
<p>The most recent <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/media-releases/young-australians-confused-about-consent-and-control-in-the-age-of-tinder-and-snapchat/">National Community Attitudes toward Violence against Women Survey</a> documented alarming attitudes about violence against women among young people. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rape-myths-like-stranger-danger-challenged-by-global-drug-survey-116110">Rape myths like 'stranger danger' challenged by global drug survey</a>
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<p>About one in seven young Australians reported a man would be justified in using force if a woman initiated sex but subsequently changed her mind about continuing. Almost one in four young men also believed women find it flattering to be persistently pursued, even if they are not interested.</p>
<p>Such “problematic attitudes to violence against women” were said to be common among young people with mainly male friends. </p>
<p>When it comes to technological responses to sexual violence, perpetrators and bystanders are rarely the focus. This is an oversight that warrants attention. </p>
<h2>Digital support solutions</h2>
<p>Technology can offer support for women in the aftermath of an incident. </p>
<p>Victim/survivors use digital channels to call out sexual hostilities, aggression or unfavourable experiences on dating apps. Examples include public Instagram accounts such as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tindernightmares/?hl=en">tindernightmares</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BlZraLihH60","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/byefelipe/?hl=en">Bye Felipe</a> also features posts “calling out dudes who turn hostile when rejected or ignored”. </p>
<p>Advocates have created apps that provide victim/survivors with ways to report violence and seek assistance. For instance, <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/sunny/">Sunny</a> helps survivors with disabilities share their stories and locate information about their rights and support.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cyber-justice-how-technology-is-supporting-victim-survivors-of-rape-56022">Cyber justice: how technology is supporting victim-survivors of rape</a>
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<p>Apps such as <a href="https://www.dvrcv.org.au/file/smartsafe-mobile-app">SmartSafe+</a> and <a href="https://www.dvrcv.org.au/help-advice/women/arc-app">Arc</a>, developed by the Domestic Violence Research Centre Victoria, can help in evidence collection.</p>
<h2>Prevention before reaction</h2>
<p>Virtual reality is another innovative channel we can use to promote and practice <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/01/sexual-assault-training-program-vantage-point-virtual-reality-video-games">bystander intervention</a> in a simulated environment. </p>
<p>Users can see and experience how bystanders - which could be any of us - might intervene to prevent sexual violence.</p>
<p>Ideally, this would be trialled alongside discussions about ideologies and behaviours that foster perpetration, and how consent can be understood and respected. </p>
<p>In many ways, technology can provide tools that help prevent sexual violence and offer support to victim/survivors. But we must develop digital initiatives that seek to promote real world, social shifts. </p>
<p>Technologies should seek to engage with and prevent perpetration, promote bystander intervention and challenge the myths, attitudes and underlying structures that facilitate sexual violence.</p>
<p>In other words, we need to prevent sexual violence at its source.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bridget Harris has previously receives funding from the Australian Institute of Criminology; Academy of Social Sciences and ACCAN. These projects have not informed this article. </span></em></p>The Rape-aXe ‘female condom’, anti-rape underwear and an anti-groping stamp are all now on the market. But they put the onus on women to protect themselves, rather than on men not to attack them.Bridget Harris, Senior Lecturer, School of Justice; Crime, Justice and Social Democracy Research Centre, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/994432019-07-24T19:59:27Z2019-07-24T19:59:27ZTraining my dog taught me that it’s people who really need training<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285465/original/file-20190724-110149-e9v1aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Clara, keen as ever for some well-deserved attention.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">@anmore</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As I watched my hunting dog standing off the lead and lined up with all the other <a href="https://klm-international.info/en/rasseportrait/">Kleiner Münsterländers</a>, awaiting her turn to swim out and bring back the dead duck (an important training item) thrown into the deep water, I felt a sense of pride.</p>
<p>It dawned on me that people may not always be the best teachers for dogs. Her desire to fit in was evident as she echoed the behaviour of the dogs around her. Unfortunately, that echoing had also become evident on daily walks with a crew of less well-trained dogs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229215/original/file-20180725-194146-7bc1nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229215/original/file-20180725-194146-7bc1nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229215/original/file-20180725-194146-7bc1nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229215/original/file-20180725-194146-7bc1nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=252&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229215/original/file-20180725-194146-7bc1nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229215/original/file-20180725-194146-7bc1nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229215/original/file-20180725-194146-7bc1nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Retrieving.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Let me be clear: I am not a hunter. While living in Denmark, under advice from locals and looking for a dog that was smart and a little challenging, I stumbled upon the Kleiner Münsterländer breed, originally bred in Münster in western Germany as a medium-sized hunting and family dog. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-your-dog-happy-ten-common-misconceptions-about-dog-behaviour-97541">Is your dog happy? Ten common misconceptions about dog behaviour</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>They are smart and fast, and the one I ended up with, Clara, was described as “hard-headed” and a natural leader. But that somewhat euphemistic description left me completely unprepared for the challenges ahead. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229206/original/file-20180725-194158-1yq19wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229206/original/file-20180725-194158-1yq19wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229206/original/file-20180725-194158-1yq19wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229206/original/file-20180725-194158-1yq19wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229206/original/file-20180725-194158-1yq19wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229206/original/file-20180725-194158-1yq19wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229206/original/file-20180725-194158-1yq19wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s easy to learn bad behaviours; note the dog on left about to jump onto a table.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">@anmore</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This dog was not like the loyal, steadfast, obedient Labradors I knew. This one was wilful, always looking to take the reins, always challenging me to think up new ways to interact, new games to play, new things to learn, new ways to do things. For example, I gave her a reward so she would drop the rubbish she had picked up. Her response was then to deliberately retrieve more rubbish to get more rewards. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, my research involved designing a set of <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-20898-5_62">vibrating and tactile vests</a> that people could wear to help them relax, and that inactive people could use to <a href="https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3233858">become energised</a>. The vests were part of a larger European Union-funded project, <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/106852/factsheet/en">CultAR</a>, involving <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-91593-7_5">various technologies designed</a> to help tourists to navigate around cultural sites in Padua, Italy. As such the vests signalled when and which way to turn, and when to stop on arrival. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/271608949" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Testing a vibrotactile vest for directions and stopping.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I wondered whether similar research could be used to help dogs who were ageing, deaf or blind to continue exercising, but still be safe. Or even my dog, who understood Danish commands but not English ones when we were about to move to an English-speaking country. We set up a series of experiments to see whether dogs would easily receive and process commands if they were presented as vibrations, rather than as verbal commands. </p>
<p>We tried <a href="https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2995391">testing “vibrotactile” commands on dogs</a>, but the already trained ones has little use for yet another system of commands, and my dog was too sensitive to bear the vibrating sensations. </p>
<h2>Tough training</h2>
<p>The Kleiner Münsterländer hunters were far tougher when training their dogs than I wanted to be with mine. At the extreme end, they used archaic methods such as shock collars or isolating their dogs in cold rooms. In dog training, as in parenting, I believe punitive measures to enforce obedience should give way to more modern ideas about ensuring well-being and creating a bond of affection and enjoyment with the handler, owner or trainer.</p>
<p>In addition, as a researcher, I was just as interested in what my dog could teach me. She was undeniably smart and I could learn a lot from her navigation skills alone. So I began looking at how to incorporate her intelligence into her learning and training program in a way that would enrich both of our qualities of life. </p>
<p>We tried a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/825781754201521/">socialisation school</a>. With it came a whole new set of leads, commands and ceremonies. Clara adjusted, although I could see she loved to be with her own breed. Kleiner Münsterländers are all a variation of each other; they become slightly mesmerised in each other’s company. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229212/original/file-20180725-194143-5duzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229212/original/file-20180725-194143-5duzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229212/original/file-20180725-194143-5duzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229212/original/file-20180725-194143-5duzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229212/original/file-20180725-194143-5duzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229212/original/file-20180725-194143-5duzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229212/original/file-20180725-194143-5duzgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kleiner Münsterländers together.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At a family Christmas in New Zealand, I bumped into <a href="http://www.markvette.com/">Mark Vette</a>, who trains animals for film and television, has worked with the celebrated animal behaviour researcher <a href="http://marcbekoff.com/">Marc Bekoff</a> and even ran a program to teach rescue dogs to drive – <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20614593">yes, really</a>. I was inspired to find other ways.</p>
<p>We moved to Australia in early 2017, and there was a lot to adjust to. Summers were far hotter than Denmark; indoors in winter was much colder. There was new language, new smells, different dogs to meet, and different landscapes to explore – no more dog parks in forests! </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227298/original/file-20180712-27030-1g69uay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227298/original/file-20180712-27030-1g69uay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227298/original/file-20180712-27030-1g69uay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227298/original/file-20180712-27030-1g69uay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227298/original/file-20180712-27030-1g69uay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227298/original/file-20180712-27030-1g69uay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227298/original/file-20180712-27030-1g69uay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Walking in the forest in Denmark – in the regions, the dog parks are usually large forested areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">@anmore</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Again, too, our training involved a new set of leads, commands and ceremonies. This time we were in a pack with leaders (both <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Dogknowledgy/photos/pcb.1748514508575126/1748514451908465/?type=3&theater">canine and human</a>) where the dogs (and the main trainer) were perceived as alphas, or leaders (wolves). Some methods involved negative reinforcement: giving the dogs an unpleasant experience to prevent them repeating that behaviour. </p>
<p>By now we had tried three different methods of dog training, each with their own failings. For example, my dog would be bored easily with repetitive acts, or we did activities that were not particularly useful or relevant in our daily lives, or she simply complied out of fear, but this was not the relationship I wanted to foster. Something began to dawn on me: the failings were ours, not the dogs’. </p>
<p>We might get frustrated with our dogs for not following our commands, but we are just as likely to let them down by getting distracted or being inconsistent in our reactions to particular behaviours. The dog is only trying to make sense of what we communicate, so if we give them mixed messages – perhaps by only responding to their barks if we’re not in the middle of something else more pressing – then confusion and stress ensue. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-walking-your-dog-enough-100530">Are you walking your dog enough?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If consistency is the key, and the failure to be consistent is ours, what can we do to be more consistent and help our animals to live a stress-free life? Perhaps it is us who need a wearable vibrating device to remind us to stay on cue.</p>
<p>A small buzz on the wrist could “train” us to be more vigilant and attentive to our dogs, in situations where they are trying desperately to tell us something. (“There’s someone coming towards the house – I’d better keep warning my owner, more loudly this time, as I don’t think she’s heard me yet…”)</p>
<p>Wearables could also help alert us to the <a href="https://yourdogsfriend.org/help/fearful-shy/">small but telltale signs of stress</a> in our dogs: ears pinned back, hard focus of eyes, stiffening of body, and so on.</p>
<p>We already have a plethora of devices to help stave off boredom and loneliness for animals who are left at home alone for long hours. Maybe there’s a market for devices that ease our dogs’ stress when we’re hanging out with them too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann Morrison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It can be tough to train a dog – but mainly because humans are even more prone to distraction and inconsistency than our canine companions. Wearable technology might help us be a bit more consistent.Ann Morrison, Honorary Associate Professor, School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1162702019-05-07T20:05:54Z2019-05-07T20:05:54ZCan we bend it? The challenge for Samsung and others to make flexible technology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272974/original/file-20190507-103068-flgn9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=65%2C73%2C5390%2C3558&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A smartphone that bends: one day soon this could be your flexible friend.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Gang Liu</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine the day when you’ll unroll or unfold your smartphone to answer it. If things go to plan, this day may be sooner than you think.</p>
<p>And we’re not just talking <a href="https://www.bestproducts.com/tech/electronics/g2938/best-flip-phones/">flip-phones</a> here, but smartphones where the actual screens are flexible, not just the handset.</p>
<p>Okay, so Samsung’s plans to launch its Galaxy Fold phone might be on hold after a few <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/mobile-phones/fallout-from-samsungs-new-galaxy-fold-phone/news-story/f33189a5b58dc5ad7083994d67a9a08c">early reviews reported cracks in the screen</a>, but 2019 is said to be a year when many of the <a href="http://time.com/5537741/foldable-smartphones/">major mobile phone manufacturers aim to release their new foldable phones</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272968/original/file-20190507-103071-sad0y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Samsung Galaxy Fold on hold.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://news.samsung.com/us/galaxy-fold-galaxy-s10-5g-coming-soon-new-era-of-mobile-leadership/">Samsung/Screenshot</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The promise of technology as intelligent as our smartphones that can simply be folded up like a piece of paper sounds amazing. So what are the challenges in making flexible technology?</p>
<h2>How flexible?</h2>
<p>To answer this we need to understand what is meant by flexible.</p>
<p>Do we need something that can be deformed without breaking (so it’s okay if you sit on your phone, as it will only bend and not break)? Maybe we want to roll it up into a cylinder with the ease of rolling a piece of paper? Or even to fold it like the Galaxy Fold?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272970/original/file-20190507-103085-1nhyvhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cracked glass of a smartphone, sitting on the device is the usual cause.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/johngarghan/8116621017/">Flickr/John Garghan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These are very different scenarios, with each putting a greater performance requirement on the device and the materials within.</p>
<p>Are the materials brittle? Or are they inherently flexible? And when they are bent, rolled, flexed or folded, do they continue to work the way they did when flat?</p>
<p>These are the questions many scientists and engineers are asking. Enter the world of materials science, mixed with a dose of advanced manufacturing.</p>
<h2>The glass</h2>
<p>Consumer electronics traditionally use materials designed for use on rigid glass substrates, or surfaces. The beauty of glass is its rigidity and thermal stability, and can be made on commercial scales. </p>
<p>That means it will rarely bend or flex, and can be heated to high temperatures. These are important factors when manufacturing an electronic device - especially those with a flat panel display. </p>
<p>To make an electronic device, complex patterns of materials need to be made to create an electronic circuit. In some cases the patterns will have features smaller than the width of your hair, even down to the size of viruses (less than 100 nanometers). Producing such patterned coatings of high-performance electronic materials can be done easily on glass at temperatures greater than 500°C.</p>
<p>But when flexibility is required, the substrate needs to change. The obvious choices are polymers and plastics. Thin sheets of these materials can be manipulated into a range of different shapes without breaking.</p>
<p>But not many of these plastics can withstand greater than 500°C during processing.</p>
<p>New developments from companies such as <a href="https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3072146/corning-is-working-on-flexible-glass-for-foldable-phones">Corning Incorporated</a> in the US have made special types of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12OSBJwogFc">thin glass that are bendable</a>.</p>
<p>Bendable glass may be one of many steps towards flexible electronics. But, as we’ll see later, maybe even bendable glass is not that useful for some applications.</p>
<h2>The electronics</h2>
<p>Beyond the substrate, there are still challenges for the electronic materials themselves. Modern electronics are built on metals and ceramics that require very high temperatures to be fabricated into electrical circuits, and are not ideal for bending.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/polymer">Polymers</a> such as Nylon, Teflon and polyester are inherently flexible and can be bent, folded or rolled. But polymers are usually insulators (they don’t conduct electricity) and they really do not like being heated too high.</p>
<p>That is why efforts are being made to engineer polymers that are conductive (<a href="https://youtu.be/UjMbwS0LOkU">conducting polymers</a>). Being conductive means that the polymers can transport electrical charge with ease - like your charging cable carries electricity from the power outlet to your portable device’s battery. In parallel engineers are changing the way the existing and new materials are manufactured.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272976/original/file-20190507-103053-qrbjc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flexible electronics: An example of polymers that conduct electricity, fabricated as an electrical circuit on a flexible substrate using inkjet printing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kamil Zuber</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Manufacturing is moving away from high temperatures in large coating machines, into things similar to inkjet and roll-to-roll printing (<a href="https://youtu.be/QqyW9vdS0x0">printed electronics</a>). Soon your new mobile phone may be printed at high speed in a similar way to a daily newspaper.</p>
<h2>But should we bend tech?</h2>
<p>Tackling these technical challenges of materials and manufacturing seems within reach. But why do we want flexible technology?</p>
<p>Sure there are some of us that dream of a flat panel TV that can be rolled and unrolled, mounting anywhere we like. Think about it as an electronic poster being hung on your bedroom wall and flexible TVs are almost here - <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/6/16859102/lg-display-rollable-oled-65-inch-ces-2018">in 2018 LG showcased a 65 inch rollable TV</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A-Yumjyd-Fs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Watch it unfold.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beyond this there are some neat advantages to flexible technology. There is a big drive towards integrating electronics with biology in the ultimate <a href="https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/wearable_computing.html">wearable computer</a>.</p>
<p>As we know, our skin (and everything contained within it) is to some degree soft, flexible and elastic. Having flexible technology would allow our <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-next-wearable-technology-could-be-your-skin-61048">wearable computers to seamlessly integrate with us</a>. This will be done so well that we won’t realise we are wearing it. </p>
<p>Glass as a substrate, even if flexible, won’t fulfil the desire to interface with biology. This is because it lacks the softness and deformability to react to the bodies movement.</p>
<p>On the other side of it, the contact lens is made of materials that many people routinely wear on a daily basis (with hopefully little annoyance).</p>
<p>So what about electronics on these soft gel-like substrates? An example of efforts to achieve this is work done by <a href="https://youtu.be/3r0pA7F0ioY">Madhu Bhaskaran</a> and team at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-take-better-photos-with-your-smartphone-thanks-to-computational-photography-107957">How to take better photos with your smartphone, thanks to computational photography</a>
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<p>They are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201500729" title="Stretchable and Tunable Microtectonic ZnO‐Based Sensors and Photonics">developing electronics that can be worn like a temporary tattoo</a>, giving wearers real-time data about UV exposure. Some companies are even developing <a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/3066870/why-a-smart-contact-lens-is-the-ultimate-wearable.html">electronics directly on a contact lens</a>.</p>
<p>But similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, the electronic contact lens project has been <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/16/alphabet-verily-stops-smart-lens-glucose-measuring-contact-lens.html">paused</a>, the early results from testing are not up to scratch at the moment.</p>
<p>But sometime in the (near) future I believe we will have flexible technologies in our daily lives. This will represent major breakthroughs in the materials and manufacturing used to create them. Most exciting is by achieving this, opportunities will open to interface the physical and cyber worlds to a level we can today only imagine.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Drew Evans receives funding from the Australian Research Council to research polymers that can conduct electricity. In the past he has received industry and government funding to investigate flexible electronic devices and their manufacture.</span></em></p>Making technology such as a new smartphone that can you can roll, fold and bend requires new ways to manufacture.Drew Evans, Associate Professor of Energy & Advanced Manufacturing, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1104892019-01-29T23:35:58Z2019-01-29T23:35:58ZThe future of psychiatry promises to be digital — from apps that track your mood to smartphone therapy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255888/original/file-20190128-108364-1p5rado.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Currently only half of people with depression access potentially adequate treatment, according to one research study. Digital devices could help.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/boudewijn huysmans)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ella, who is in her early 20s, has depression. When her sleep started to fall away after a stressful term at school, her smartphone was programmed to note the late-night texts and phone conversations indicating her insomnia. It made suggestions to improve her sleep. </p>
<p>When her social media posts grew more negative and she was calling friends less often, her phone had her do a depression scale, booked her in to see her psychiatrist, then uploaded the scale results and a log of her recent sleep patterns. </p>
<p>She connected with her psychiatrist though videoconferencing and this doctor made some medication adjustments. Ella also began some focused psychotherapy through an app.</p>
<p>Ella isn’t real, but <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/chronic-diseases/mental-illness/what-depression.html">hundreds of thousands of Canadians</a> do have major depressive disorder. Today, smartphones don’t pick up on insomnia, and they don’t set up appointments with psychiatrists. But one day they could. </p>
<p>We may soon use smartphones and wearables to help treat depression. As a psychiatrist, I see this as a good thing, allowing more people to access quality care.</p>
<h2>Health apps track mood</h2>
<p>Mental health care is an area in need of transformation. <a href="https://cmha.ca/about-cmha/fast-facts-about-mental-illness">One in five Canadians</a> will have mental health problems this year, yet many struggle to access care. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743715625940">According to one study</a>, only half of people with depression get adequate care.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255889/original/file-20190128-108370-1610x2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255889/original/file-20190128-108370-1610x2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255889/original/file-20190128-108370-1610x2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255889/original/file-20190128-108370-1610x2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255889/original/file-20190128-108370-1610x2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255889/original/file-20190128-108370-1610x2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255889/original/file-20190128-108370-1610x2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Could the phones that enslave us also offer the key to better mental health?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Rawpixel)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Evidence-based psychotherapy is particularly difficult for people to access; <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743716640288">a recent Canadian study</a> found just 13 per cent of people with depression had any psychotherapy. Yet cognitive behavioural therapy — a type of therapy that focuses on how a person’s thoughts can affect his or her behaviour and mood — is as effective as medications.</p>
<p>Just as technology has transformed other aspects of our lives, people are increasingly tapping it for health needs. There are, for instance, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-018-0021-9">more than 315,000 mobile health apps</a>. </p>
<p>Many of my patients use apps for information on their illnesses; some incorporate apps into their care, helping them remember when to take medications or track their mood over time. And more people are now looking online for therapy. </p>
<p>Studies show that if the therapy is done right (with a therapist guiding the process), people <a href="http://www.cmaj.ca/content/188/4/263">can do as well as with in-person care, but at a lower cost</a>. </p>
<h2>Smartphones identify symptoms</h2>
<p>The advantages are more than economic. For the single mother with three kids or the older person who hesitates to attend a clinic in the dead of winter, online therapy isn’t better care, it’s the only care. </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the idea has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2018.02.001">proven popular</a> with the private sector and also with governments in Norway and Sweden.</p>
<p>And there is great potential to see technology assist with all aspects of care. The majority of North Americans have smartphones, which are carried around everywhere. </p>
<p>By looking at speech patterns and our movements, smartphones could pick up on subtle changes indicating the start or worsening of symptoms, while wearables may notice subtle physical changes — long before patients themselves even notice problems. These devices could be bringing objective, real-time data to care. </p>
<p>Needless to say, the research is active; for example, several of my colleagues at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto are looking at depression and Fitbit data to detect patterns that could signal the onset of depression earlier.</p>
<h2>The challenge of privacy</h2>
<p>We also need to be careful. There are hundreds of depression apps, but quantity doesn’t mean quality. In one study, when a basic quality control standard was applied (such as revealing the source of information), <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4376135/">only 25 per cent of the apps studied passed the test</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255892/original/file-20190128-108351-1tasusw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255892/original/file-20190128-108351-1tasusw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255892/original/file-20190128-108351-1tasusw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255892/original/file-20190128-108351-1tasusw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255892/original/file-20190128-108351-1tasusw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255892/original/file-20190128-108351-1tasusw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255892/original/file-20190128-108351-1tasusw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Digital psychiatry could be lifesaving for the elderly or house-bound.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Rawpixel)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Digital mental health also needs to include digital privacy and confidentiality. Just as banking information shouldn’t be shared recklessly, medical information carried on a smartphone or a wearable device needs to be safe for the user. </p>
<p>And conflicts of interest must be clear. A smart phone app, for example, shouldn’t be a hidden advertisement for a private company.</p>
<p>People often ask me if I think technology will soon replace psychiatrists. That’s unlikely to happen. But one day, a patient like Ella may tap technology to get better care. And that’s good news — if we have the government policies and provider practices in place to ensure that the technology is used thoughtfully.</p>
<p><em>David Gratzer blogs about psychiatry and research at <a href="http://www.davidgratzer.com/">www.davidgratzer.com</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Gratzer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Using smartphones and wearable devices to identify mental health symptoms and deliver psychotherapy will allow more people to access quality care, according to one psychiatrist.David Gratzer, Psychiatrist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1039932018-10-04T04:44:23Z2018-10-04T04:44:23ZAn insurance discount for your fitness data is a bad deal in the long run<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239059/original/file-20181003-101555-40lyoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the brave new world of information capital, data collected from wearables and other technologies could be a slippery slope to a new social hierarchy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTUzODU1NTA1OCwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTE4ODYxMzkyNyIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMTg4NjEzOTI3L2h1Z2UuanBnIiwibSI6MSwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJMZTA0WnlZVzloVksvYkZZSFk4dnZ0Tks4OFEiXQ%2Fshutterstock_1188613927.jpg&pi=41133566&m=1188613927&src=I54XOIyx6pnXBWXPfzz0Ow-1-9">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>John Hancock Insurance, the US division of Canadian insurance company Manulife, came under <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/26/17905390/john-hancock-life-insurance-fitness-tracker-wearables-science-health">scrutiny</a> last month for offering lower premiums to individuals who agreed to share their fitness tracking data with the company.</p>
<p>It’s another example of the new era of information capital, in which companies commercially benefit from users’ data. Aside from health data, companies around the world currently <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/12/08/turning-data-into-profits-what-does-it-take/#52dc899974d6">make money</a> from tracking location information, purchasing patterns, sleep data, and social interests.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-social-factors-that-influence-whether-youll-use-your-wearable-device-89080">The social factors that influence whether you’ll use your wearable device</a>
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<p>According to French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, those in society who hold capital <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470755679.ch15">can grow advantage and pass it on</a>. But it doesn’t always follow that accumulated advantage is put to ethical use, or that the benefits are passed on to serve the greater good.</p>
<p>When it comes to information capital, often the result is the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-newman/why-googles-spying-on-use_b_3530296.html">opposite</a>. And often advantage is gained in the first place by what can only be deemed as perverse incentives.</p>
<h2>What is a perverse incentive?</h2>
<p>A perverse incentive refers to the unintended consequences, or harms, of a reward that’s on offer.</p>
<p>For example, a company might suggest that the adoption of a fitness tracking program is positive because it will produce health benefits for the individual and the community. But, in the long term, these incentives could create economic inequities, or serve to frame some groups negatively.</p>
<p>Consider if a fitness tracking program offered by an insurer was linked with an employer. If data about who adopted the fitness tracking program and who didn’t was made public, employers might offer additional rewards and benefits to those who take part. One consequence of this could be that people who choose not to participate in the program are stigmatised, or portrayed as social deviants through noncompliance. A culture of competition for rewards could emerge.</p>
<p>In the brave new world of information capital, sharing data collected from wearables and other technologies could be a slippery slope towards the kind of social hierarchy evident in China’s much-criticised <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-31/chinas-social-credit-system-punishes-untrustworthy-citizens/9596204">social credit system</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-social-credit-system-puts-its-people-under-pressure-to-be-model-citizens-89963">China’s Social Credit System puts its people under pressure to be model citizens</a>
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<hr>
<p>These kinds of incentives could also lead to loss of personal autonomy, particularly in cases where companies prescribe the devices and the brands that support their programs. When a person’s right to choose is impinged upon, these devices start to shape our private and social lives.</p>
<h2>Is this happening in Australia?</h2>
<p>Similar incentives to those offered by John Hancock Insurance are already available from <a href="https://www.comparingexpert.com.au/life-insurance/health-and-wellness-incentives/">Australian insurance firms</a>.</p>
<p>To be eligible for premium discounts and rewards, you need only to complete regular online health assessments, join partnered gyms, use a prescribed fitness tracker and the associated health program, or show a body mass index of lower than, or equivalent to, 28. Some insurers also request a complete blood test to be stored on their files.</p>
<p>Aside from being used to determine premium costs, what other uses this data is put to is unknown.</p>
<p>Genetic discrimination by insurers has previously been <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-can-be-denied-life-insurance-based-on-genetic-test-results-and-there-is-little-protection-81335">identified in Australia</a>. This means that people with identifiable health conditions, or predispositions to future risk, are charged increased premiums, excluded from certain covers or refused insurance outright. </p>
<p>In 2017, an Australian parliamentary enquiry was held into discrimination by insurers regarding predictive genetic information and the use of medical information. A <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Corporations_and_Financial_Services/LifeInsurance/Report">moratorium</a> was imposed on the use of predictive genetic information by life insurers. Other recommendations included the development of standards and protocols around storage of medical files and access by insurers, and disclosure to consumers about any requests made for medical information. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-life-insurance-companies-want-your-fitbit-data-103732">Why life insurance companies want your Fitbit data</a>
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<h2>Where is the consumer advantage?</h2>
<p>In the new era of information capital, it’s essential that we better understand what data government and companies are collecting, how it’s being used and who it might be shared with.</p>
<p>This can be a lot of work. Look at what’s happening with My Health Record: you must <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/eHealth-framework">explicitly opt out</a> to prevent your data from being used for secondary purposes, such as to inform research, policy and planning. The new <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/submissions/new-australian-government-data-sharing-and-release-legislation-submission-to-department-of-prime-minister-and-cabinet">Data Sharing and Release Legislation</a> will play help determine how data can be shared and and consumer data rights.</p>
<p>Like all forms of capital, information capital has the ability to shape advantage. In this case, those in the top tier receive the economic and social benefits, while those in the bottom tier are punished with higher costs, possible exclusion and maybe even less access to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3937885/">treatments in the future</a>. So, information capital is creating an advantage that almost certainly will not be passed on here.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria J Palmer receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Network Society Institute of The University of Melbourne. </span></em></p>An offer that appears beneficial on the surface, but can lead to unintended negative consequences is called a “perverse incentive”.Victoria J Palmer, Senior Research Fellow & Honorary Fellow (Applied Ethics) Melbourne Networked Society Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1037322018-09-23T15:30:40Z2018-09-23T15:30:40ZWhy life insurance companies want your Fitbit data<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237563/original/file-20180923-129844-ypitj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Industry representatives wear fitness trackers at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January 2014 in Las Vegas. Health and fitness information is being increasingly shared with insurance companies.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I recently predicted that health data from electronic sources could soon be compiled <a href="https://theconversation.com/turning-your-health-data-into-a-wellness-score-might-not-be-good-for-you-100641">into a health or wellness report</a> and shared with insurance companies to help them determine who they’ll cover.</p>
<p>And now John Hancock, the U.S. division of Canadian insurance giant Manulife, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/john-hancock-manulife-1.4831629">requires customers to use activity trackers</a> for life insurance policies in their Vitality program if they want to get discounts on their premiums and other perks.</p>
<p>Customers can withhold their fitness data, but that will result in higher premiums, which may put life insurance out of reach for low-income earners. This in turn could have an impact on whether would-be homeowners can take out mortgages, some of which can require a life insurance policy on the principle borrower.</p>
<p>The fact that insurance companies track the physical activities of customers <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/06/19/wearable-tech-health-insurance/#bb045aa18bd5">has been making headlines for years</a>, but previous initiatives were pilot projects. </p>
<p>Now, customers who don’t want to offer up their health data to John Hancock have two choices: Don’t report it and pay higher premiums, or go somewhere else for their insurance. </p>
<p>But what’s going to happen if other companies follow suit? </p>
<h2>Figuring out when you’re having sex?</h2>
<p>Your privacy will be infringed upon by apps that pass on to your insurer all of the activities you do while wearing your smartwatch. </p>
<p>That could include steps walked, heart rate, blood pressure – your insurer may even be able to figure out when you’re having sex.</p>
<p>This is nothing new. We’ve long known that wearable technology records <a href="https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology-and-privacy/digital-devices/02_05_d_73_wd/">“data about you and your condition, activities and day-to-day choices.”</a> </p>
<p>And we know that that data collected by these devices and through our internet activities “continually leak.” In fact, researchers have discovered that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2017/06/13/70-percent-of-mobile-apps-share-your-data-with-third-parties/">70 per cent of third-party apps collect data that can then be used to create a profile of buying and spending habits</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tech-gifts-for-unsavvy-seniors-may-put-your-loved-ones-at-risk-88913">Tech gifts for unsavvy seniors may put your loved ones at risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So is it really a problem that customers use wearable technology like Fitbit and report their healthy activities, such as workouts and healthy eating, to their insurer?</p>
<p>Well, yes. One problem is that this information is not always correct. <a href="https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1136">Fitbit itself acknowledges</a> that “the algorithm is designed to look for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running” and that it may not always be accurate in reporting other activities, such as riding a bike or working.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237565/original/file-20180923-117383-scb2yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Will insurers be able to dictate how much time mothers need to recover from childbirth before they start exercising again?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there’s the question of what happens with your premiums if you stop engaging in these activities. How much time will insurance companies allow women to recover from childbirth before they have to get back to their insurance plan’s requirements for physical activity? </p>
<p>What about people recovering from joint replacements or heart surgery? How long will these people have before their premiums go up?</p>
<h2>Older adults at risk</h2>
<p>Older adults are especially vulnerable to this sort of data-based gatekeeping. The glitches in wearable technology’s data collection may be amplified with older people, whose exercise behaviour might not be as strenuous as that of younger adults, and therefore subject to more recording errors. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237566/original/file-20180923-43466-1a2h5pn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237566/original/file-20180923-43466-1a2h5pn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237566/original/file-20180923-43466-1a2h5pn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237566/original/file-20180923-43466-1a2h5pn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237566/original/file-20180923-43466-1a2h5pn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237566/original/file-20180923-43466-1a2h5pn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237566/original/file-20180923-43466-1a2h5pn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Older adults’ exercise activities may not be accurately detected by wearable technology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition to the potential under-recording of their fitness activities, many people over 65 years old have at least one illness, which, when combined with data errors, may make them ineligible for discounted insurance programs. This could change the retirement opportunities for many older adults.</p>
<p>And what about the healthy lifestyles that insurance companies reward their customers for living? </p>
<p>Diet, fitness and medication regimes go in and out of favour. Taking “baby aspirin,” for example, to prevent heart attacks and stroke <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/9/17/17869872/aspirin-heart-disease-cancer-prevention">has recently been shown to be ineffective</a> for healthy adults.</p>
<p>Another example of the fickleness of health trends involves healthy eating guru Brian Wansink, <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/9/19/17879102/brian-wansink-cornell-food-brand-lab-retractions-jama">who’s had some academic articles retracted,</a> including those that told us not to go grocery shopping when we’re hungry and not to use large bowls when we’re eating. </p>
<p>This all suggests that the food and activity choices of insurance companies are linked to scholarly research. </p>
<h2>Conflict of interest?</h2>
<p>But what happens if a multinational business owns both insurance and manufacturing companies? Is it possible that insurance perks and discounts could be linked to purchases from their subsidiaries, disguised as “health initiatives?” </p>
<p>In other words, the insurer could reward customers for adhering to a health regimen that might be helpful, but could also be bogus or, in the worst-case scenario, harmful or exploitative while financially benefiting the insurance company.</p>
<p>If legislators don’t get involved, Big Business could end up literally dictating to us what we can and can’t do, or eat, if we want or need insurance. </p>
<p>For those who can’t afford healthy food or recreational fitness, and those who refuse to allow their data to be harvested, life insurance premiums, and other products like mortgages, may drift out of reach.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>L.F. Carver does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Insurer John Hancock now requires customers to use activity trackers for life insurance policies. Here’s how that will put life insurance and even mortgages out of reach for many people.L.F. Carver, Post Doctoral Fellow, Queen's University and Ageing + Communication + Technologies (ACT) (SSHRC funded), Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/926942018-03-28T12:36:01Z2018-03-28T12:36:01ZTranshumanism: advances in technology could already put evolution into hyperdrive – but should they?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212239/original/file-20180327-109172-x7fob1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-illustrated-wirefframe-human-head-virtual-33641269?src=VroN7hkLkqn-rCN9orN4XQ-2-99">Tonis Pan/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Biological evolution takes place over generations. But imagine if it could be expedited beyond the incremental change envisaged by Darwin to a matter of individual experience. Such things are dreamt of by so-called “transhumanists”. Transhumanism has come to connote different things to different people, from a belief system to a cultural movement, a field of study to a technological fantasy. You can’t get a degree in transhumanism, but you can subscribe to it, invest in it, research its actors, and act on its tenets.</p>
<p>So what is it? The term “transhumanism” gained widespread currency in 1990, following its formal inauguration by Max More, the CEO of <a href="http://alcor.org">Alcor Life Extension Foundation</a>. It refers to an optimistic belief in the enhancement of the human condition through technology in all its forms. Its advocates believe in fundamentally enhancing the human condition through applied reason and a corporeal embrace of new technologies.</p>
<p>It is rooted in the belief that humans can and will be enhanced by the genetic engineering and information technology of today, as well as anticipated advances, such as bioengineering, artificial intelligence, and molecular nanotechnology. The result is an iteration of <em>Homo sapiens</em> enhanced or augmented, but still fundamentally human.</p>
<h2>Evolution in hyperdrive</h2>
<p>The central premise of transhumanism, then, is that biological evolution will eventually be overtaken by advances in genetic, wearable and implantable technologies that artificially expedite the evolutionary process. This was the kernel of More’s <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118555927.ch1/summary">founding definition</a> in 1990. Article two of the periodically updated, multi-authored “<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118555927.ch4/summary">transhumanist declaration</a>” continues to assert the point: “We favor morphological freedom – the right to modify and enhance one’s body, cognition and emotions.”</p>
<p>To date, areas to improve on include natural ageing (including, for die-hards, the cessation of “involuntary death”) as well as physical, intellectual and psychological capacities. Some distinguished scientists, such as Hans Moravec and Raymond Kurzweil, even <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0d8oDwAAQBAJ">advocate</a> a posthuman condition: the end of humanity’s reliance on our congenital bodies by transforming “our frail version 1.0 human bodies into their far more durable and capable version 2.0 counterparts”.</p>
<p>The push back against such unchecked optimism is emphatic. <a href="http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/221758/17685958/1334527559997/Sobchack2006_ALegToStandOn.pdf?token=I74HOq784qx0HxNvnJcKBnvXjzI%3D">Some find</a> the rhetoric distasteful in its assumptions about the desire for a prosthetic future. </p>
<p>And potential ethical problems, in particular, are raised. Tattoos, piercings and cosmetic surgery remain a matter of individual choice, and amputations a matter of medical necessity. But if augmented sensory capacity, for instance, were to become normative in a particular field, it might coerce others to make similar changes to their bodies in order to compete. As Isaiah Berlin once <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e3efQgAACAAJ">put it</a>: “Freedom for the wolves has often meant death to the sheep.”</p>
<h2>Augmented human hearing</h2>
<p>In order to really get to grips with the meaning of all this, though, an example is needed. Take the hypothetical augmentation of human hearing, something I am researching within a broader project on <a href="https://sound-matter.com">sound and materialism</a>. Within discussions of transhumanism, ears are not typically among the sense organs figured for enhancement.</p>
<p>But human hearing is already being augmented. Algorithms for transposing auditory frequencies already exist (common to most speech processors in cochlear implants and hearing aids). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3163053/">Research</a> into the regeneration of cilia hairs in the cochlear duct is also <a href="http://www.hearingreview.com/2017/02/study-shows-hair-cell-regrowth-new-drug/">ongoing</a>. Following this logic, augmenting unimpaired hearing need be no different, in principle, to correcting impaired hearing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212240/original/file-20180327-109172-qxpj7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212240/original/file-20180327-109172-qxpj7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212240/original/file-20180327-109172-qxpj7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212240/original/file-20180327-109172-qxpj7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212240/original/file-20180327-109172-qxpj7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212240/original/file-20180327-109172-qxpj7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212240/original/file-20180327-109172-qxpj7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s impression of a robotic ear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/futuristic-robot-hearing-organ-robotic-ear-471684869?src=VroN7hkLkqn-rCN9orN4XQ-1-21">Ociacia/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What next? Acoustic sound vibrations sit alongside the vast, inaudible electromagnetic spectrum, and various animals access different portions of this acoustic space, portions to which we — as humans — have no access. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mq/advance-article/doi/10.1093/musqtl/gdy001/4951391">Could this change</a>?</p>
<p>If it does, this may well alter the identity of sound itself. <a href="http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10074768_00005.html">Speculations</a> as to whether what is visible as light might under other circumstances be perceivable as sound have arisen at various points over the past two centuries. This raises heady questions about the very definition of sound. Must it be perceived by a human ear to constitute sound? By a sentient animal? Can a machine hear sufficiently to define sound beyond the human auditory range? What about aesthetics? Aesthetics itself — as the (human) study of the beautiful — may no longer even be applicable. </p>
<h2>All hypothetical?</h2>
<p>The technologies for broaching such questions are arguably already at hand. Examples of auditory sense augmentation (broadly conceived) include Norbert Wiener’s so-called “<a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/differences/article/22/2-3/74/60653/On-Disability-and-Cybernetics-Helen-Keller-Norbert">hearing glove</a>”, which stimulated the finger of a deaf person with <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/differences/article-abstract/22/2-3/74/60653/On-Disability-and-Cybernetics-Helen-Keller-Norbert?redirectedFrom=fulltext">electromagnetic vibrations</a>; an implanted colour sensor that — for its colour-blind recipient, <a href="https://www.ted.com/speakers/neil_harbisson">Neil Harbisson</a> — converts the colour spectrum into sounds, including ultraviolet and infrared signals; and a cochlear <a href="http://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/us/about/featured-news/nucleus7-launch">implant</a> that streams sounds wirelessly from Apple’s mass market devices directly to the auditory nerve of its recipients.</p>
<p>The discussion is not entirely hypothetical, in other words. So what does all this mean? </p>
<p>There is a famous scene in the film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/">The Matrix</a> in which Morpheus asks Neo whether he wants to take the blue pill or the red pill. One returns him unawares to his life of total physical and mental enslavement within the simulation programme of the Matrix, the other gives him access to the real world with all its brutal challenges. But after experiencing this, he can never go back to life within the Matrix, and must survive outside it.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zE7PKRjrid4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Advocates of transhumanism face a similar choice today. One option is to take advantage of the advances in nanotechnologies, genetic engineering and other medical sciences to enhance the biological and mental functioning of human beings (never to go back). The other is to legislate to prevent these artificial changes from becoming an entrenched part of humanity, with all the implied coercive bio-medicine that would entail for the species. </p>
<p>Of course, the reality of this debate is more complex. Holding our scepticism in abeyance, it still supersedes individual choice. Hence the question of agency remains: who should have the right to decide?</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: this article was updated on March 29 to clarify that acoustic sound is not part of the electromagnetic spectrum.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92694/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Trippett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We can either take advantage of advances in technology to enhance human beings (never to go back), or we can legislate to prevent this from happening.David Trippett, Senior University Lecturer, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/917212018-02-14T14:33:18Z2018-02-14T14:33:18ZWearable technologies help Olympians achieve top performance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206251/original/file-20180213-44639-1guroyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wearable systems can reveal just how hard these skaters' bodies are working.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Pyeongchang-Olympics-Figure-Skating-Pairs/d2c7a6a70c354034b03970b52f87bb2d/5/0">AP Photo/Bernat Armangue</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Fitbits and other <a href="https://theconversation.com/your-mobile-phone-can-give-away-your-location-even-if-you-tell-it-not-to-65443">wearable activity monitors</a> change how regular people exercise and track their activity, they’re having similar effects on how Olympians train and recover between workouts.</p>
<p>It’s long been common for <a href="https://blog.teamsnap.com/general-sports/benefits-of-using-video-analysis-in-sports-practices">coaches to use video cameras</a> to show athletes what their form and movements look like, to track progress, and to fine-tune exactly the right technique for, say, taking off for a jump or landing after a particular trick. But those only show what’s going on from the outside.</p>
<p>Now, wearables, biometrics and apps analyzing their data are becoming much more common for athletes at all levels, giving indications of what’s going on inside an athlete’s body. I have worked as a sport physiologist with elite athletes for two decades, including with <a href="https://www.usaswimming.org/">USA Swimming</a> and <a href="http://www.usfsa.org/story?id=84039">U.S. Figure Skating</a>; there’s not yet much research about the results in figure skating, but <a href="https://DOI.org/10.1123/ijspp.2014-0324">wearables have helped coaches</a>, athletes and sport scientists in other sports like swimming, cycling, soccer and volleyball.</p>
<h2>Beating how fast?</h2>
<p>The most basic measurement of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0253-z">how hard an athlete’s body is working</a> is how fast her heart is beating; many wearable devices track their user’s heart rate in real time. Trainers can measure how fast an athlete’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838010-00004">heart beats during maximum exertion</a> in a test on a treadmill or skating increasingly fast across the rink.</p>
<p>Then, during workouts, a coach can determine how hard the athlete is working by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4831892/">comparing his real-time heart rate</a> to his maximum. When a person’s heart is beating almost as fast as it can, that’s pushing nearly as hard as a person’s body can. When an athlete’s heart rate is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00073">closer to half its maximum</a>, the body is working at an intensity that allows the skater to recover from more demanding efforts. By tuning the workout to keep the athlete’s heart rate in certain ranges for certain periods, a coach or sport scientist can optimize both exertion and recovery time. That way, the body’s muscles and cardiovascular system are well trained and <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/finding-an-edge-gold-medalist-lindsey-vonn-talks-tech/">in top form for competition</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206253/original/file-20180213-44660-18ene30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wearable monitors can measure activity level and heart rate, among other vital signs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FitbitIonicMomentDisplay.jpg">DReifGalaxyM31</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How many landings?</h2>
<p>Figure skaters and many snowboarders and skiers are among those whose competitive performances include jumps – which means they have to practice intensively for each one. Those leaps, and their landings, exert enormous amounts of stress on athletes’ bodies – ranging from <a href="https://news.byu.edu/news/figure-8-skaters-feel-eight-times-their-body-weight-when-they-land-jump">eight to 14 times</a> the person’s body weight for a brief moment. A 100-pound skater who jumps 50 times in a typical daily workout for five training days is loading 160 tons of cumulative weight on her bones during that training week. The forces are absorbed by muscles and bones in the feet and legs, as well as the torso.</p>
<p>That’s a lot of stress, and a lot of potential for injury. In figure skating, for example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465030310040601">70 percent of injuries are from overuse</a> – primarily from the accumulated effects of those impacts. Wearable monitors can track <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.5114%2Fbiolsport.2017.66000">how many jumps a person takes</a> and measure the rotational, gravitational and other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/25/12/125901">forces involved in the jumps and landings</a>. These readings can help coaches ensure athletes develop strength and endurance while warning of potential for injury.</p>
<p>More sophisticated <a href="https://www.recode.net/2015/3/16/11560246/are-smart-clothes-the-wearables-of-the-future">biosensors embedded in clothing</a> keep track of an athlete’s body temperature, movement and breathing rate and other data, also helping coaches fine-tune workouts to optimize performance. </p>
<h2>Getting enough rest?</h2>
<p>Crucial elements of Olympians’ top performance come while away from practice sessions – including when they’re eating and sleeping. Athletes can use <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.3345">smartphone apps to record what they eat</a> and when, tracking how many calories they take in, as well as amounts of nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates and fats.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1586/17434440.2016.1171708">sleep-tracking devices</a> use accelerometers to track a person’s movements – and sometimes heart and breathing rates – while they’re asleep. The data can reveal indicators of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/sports/olympics/figure-skating-schedule.html">how well the person rested</a>, such as how much a person moved around in bed at night. That can help coaches choose appropriate workouts depending on how tired an athlete is.</p>
<p>Wearables make available all these data – about nutrition, exertion, stress forces, rest and recovery – that coaches and athletes alike can use to improve training, boost performance and, ideally, make it to the top of a medal podium.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91721/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaci VanHeest is affiliated with USA Figure Skating Sports Sciences and Medicine Committee.</span></em></p>Wearables help regular people track their activity, but sophisticated technology can give deeper insights to elite athletes.Jaci VanHeest, Associate Professor of Education, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.