Communications of the ACM
Ditch the Pedometer – the AI in Your Phone Is Better
Credit: iStockPhoto.com
Smartphones can do a better job measuring the energy you expand during the day than today's wearable activity monitors, according to Amit Pande from the University of California, Davis. His team has designed an activity-tracking algorithm for smartphones that works by training a neural network to recognize features in the data gathered by the phone's accelerometer and barometer. The system also considers variables such as age, gender, height, and weight. The researchers say the system closely matched the performance of professional, wearable calorimeters.
"This is a new market, so in the beginning people are not so worried about accuracy," Pande says. "But we want accurate data so that physicians can use it to improve their understanding of human beings."
The National University of Singapore's Mike Brown says the Pande's research is impressive, but notes that phone-only activity sensing has its downsides, such as the limited power capacity of smartphones and the need to carry one while engaged in strenuous activities.
From New Scientist
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