Now this one is my personal favorite. Fitness trackers! I recently got a fitibit one and I am loving it. There are plenty good options available in the market and its a must try!
Unless something is measured or quantified, it can not be improved.. I kept arguing with myself that I do have a healthy lifestyle,. When I look at the number is steps I take or the active minutes of the day.. The other me , has to keep quite and accept that there is long way to go :)
Fitness trackers , I think they are one of the must have devices after phones. These days phones have the capabilities to track the steps , calories and distance but you don't carry your phone everywhere.
Unfortunately I have a tracker that doesn't measure heart rate, but I do have a heart rate monitor. So I can actually see if I am in the fat burning zone when I am running. This is so convenient and its so important to get expected results. People have been complaining for ages that about not getting the expected results after working out for hours! Guess what lets get smarter with these intelligent devices and let them work on the decision making.
Just one pain point I have is charging , I stay in Texas , we have more than fair (way more than fair) share of sun throughout the year. so why do I have to charge my device? When its not sunny I am moving around, there is a lot of energy available for utilization. I am sure Soon we will see this coming on a larger scale.
Well lets look at the more technical details of the product and understanding the underlying architecture. Let me explain a generic architecture in fitness trackers.
I have just added few examples of the sensors. There are multiple sensors available in the market for the same purpose. This is the data collection module. For data processing its important that minimal processing is done on the device and data is sent to the central node/server for further processing. The processing has to definitely low power. (This reminds me of my VLSI classes). Last module is the connectivity module. Currently most of the devices use Bluetooth for connectivity but with the enhancements in networks , there will be much more options available. May be the carriers decide to roll out enhance their networks so that all devices are connected. You can purchase n number of connected devices with your AT&T plan. There are infinite possibilities.
Safety and Fitness Trackers
Whenever we talk about wearables , its very important that the safety features are taken into account. These wearables are in touch with the body. Its very very important to comply with all the safety standards.Recently a giant recalled one of their products due to skin allergies.
Now there are more than 7 billion people in this world and no two human beings are alike. Oh My God , are we looking at 7 billion conditions to test? There are a lot of things happening inside this small unit.
When you are being innovative one can think of numerous possibilities but at the end its necessary to comply to all the FCC safety standards.
From RF point of view, the RF interference/exposure created by the device has to be less than permissible amount. Factors like SAR also need to be taken into account. I have covered the details in antenna testing in older posts.
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On a broader scale the complete health monitoring system has a lot more than fitness trackers.
IoT will be truly revolutionizing the health care industry. Remote monitoring and lots of data are the two key factors for the same. There are sensors of every kind currently available in the market.
It will be an excellent way to remote monitor the patient , that will save huge medical costs ( only if the prices go down.).
This topic needs more details and a lot of points need to be captured. Lets continue in the next blog..
Unless something is measured or quantified, it can not be improved.. I kept arguing with myself that I do have a healthy lifestyle,. When I look at the number is steps I take or the active minutes of the day.. The other me , has to keep quite and accept that there is long way to go :)
Unfortunately I have a tracker that doesn't measure heart rate, but I do have a heart rate monitor. So I can actually see if I am in the fat burning zone when I am running. This is so convenient and its so important to get expected results. People have been complaining for ages that about not getting the expected results after working out for hours! Guess what lets get smarter with these intelligent devices and let them work on the decision making.
Just one pain point I have is charging , I stay in Texas , we have more than fair (way more than fair) share of sun throughout the year. so why do I have to charge my device? When its not sunny I am moving around, there is a lot of energy available for utilization. I am sure Soon we will see this coming on a larger scale.
Well lets look at the more technical details of the product and understanding the underlying architecture. Let me explain a generic architecture in fitness trackers.
I have just added few examples of the sensors. There are multiple sensors available in the market for the same purpose. This is the data collection module. For data processing its important that minimal processing is done on the device and data is sent to the central node/server for further processing. The processing has to definitely low power. (This reminds me of my VLSI classes). Last module is the connectivity module. Currently most of the devices use Bluetooth for connectivity but with the enhancements in networks , there will be much more options available. May be the carriers decide to roll out enhance their networks so that all devices are connected. You can purchase n number of connected devices with your AT&T plan. There are infinite possibilities.
Safety and Fitness Trackers
Whenever we talk about wearables , its very important that the safety features are taken into account. These wearables are in touch with the body. Its very very important to comply with all the safety standards.Recently a giant recalled one of their products due to skin allergies.
Now there are more than 7 billion people in this world and no two human beings are alike. Oh My God , are we looking at 7 billion conditions to test? There are a lot of things happening inside this small unit.
When you are being innovative one can think of numerous possibilities but at the end its necessary to comply to all the FCC safety standards.
From RF point of view, the RF interference/exposure created by the device has to be less than permissible amount. Factors like SAR also need to be taken into account. I have covered the details in antenna testing in older posts.
--
On a broader scale the complete health monitoring system has a lot more than fitness trackers.
IoT will be truly revolutionizing the health care industry. Remote monitoring and lots of data are the two key factors for the same. There are sensors of every kind currently available in the market.
It will be an excellent way to remote monitor the patient , that will save huge medical costs ( only if the prices go down.).
This topic needs more details and a lot of points need to be captured. Lets continue in the next blog..
