Light sensors on wearables struggle with dark skin and obesity #WearableWednesday
It is vital to consider all bodies when developing any wearable device. A new study brings to light some major problems in current tech. Via The Verge:
Light sensors used to track heart rate in wearable devices like the Apple Watch Series 5 and the Fitbit Versa 2 don’t work as well on darker skin or people with obesity, according to modeling done in a new study.
That’s a problem for features currently built into devices — but it’s also a bad sign for efforts to use light sensors for new applications in wearables, like monitoring blood pressure, says study author Jessica Ramella-Roman, an associate professor studying bioimaging sensors at Florida International University.
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Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!