Wearable Computing for Health and Fitness: Exploring the Relationship between Data and Human Behaviour

Health and fitness wearable technology has recently advanced, making it easier for an individual to monitor their behaviours. Previously self generated data interacts with the user to motivate positive behaviour change, but issues arise when relating this to long term mention of wearable devices. Previous studies within this area are discussed. We also consider a new approach where data is used to support instead of motivate, through monitoring and logging to encourage reflection. Based on issues highlighted, we then make recommendations on the direction in which future work could be most beneficial

Live Biofeedback as a User Interface Design Element: A Review of the Literature

With the advances in sensor technology and real-time processing of neurophysiological data, a growing body of academic literature has begun to explore how live biofeedback can be integrated into information systems for everyday use. While researchers have traditionally studied live biofeedback in the clinical domain, the proliferation of affordable mobile sensor technology enables researchers and practitioners to consider live biofeedback as a user interface element in contexts such as decision support, education, and gaming. In order to establish the current state of research on live biofeedback, we conducted a literature review on studies that examine self and foreign live biofeedback based on neurophysiological data for healthy subjects in an information systems context. By integrating a body of highly fragmented work from computer science, engineering and technology, information systems, medical science, and psychology, this paper synthesizes results from existing research, identifies knowledge gaps, and suggests directions for future research. In this vein, this review can serve as a reference guide for researchers and practitioners on how to integrate self and foreign live biofeedback into information systems for everyday use

Know Thyself: Improving Interoceptive Ability Through Ambient Biofeedback in the Workplace

Interoception, the perception of the body’s internal state, is intimately connected to self-regulation and wellbeing. Grounded in the affective science literature, we design an ambient biofeedback system called Soni-Phy and a lab study to investigate whether, when and how an unobtrusive biofeedback system can be used to improve interoceptive sensibility and accuracy by amplifying a users’ internal state. This research has practical significance for the design and improvement of assistive technologies for the workplace

Enhancing Proprioception and Regulating Cognitive Load in Neurodiverse Populations through Biometric Monitoring with Wearable Technologies

This paper considers the realm of wearable technologies and their prospective applications for individuals with neurodivergent conditions, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The study undertakes a multifaceted analysis that encompasses biomarker sensing technologies, AI-driven biofeedback mechanisms, and haptic devices, focusing on their implications for enhancing proprioception and social interaction among neurodivergent populations. While wearables offer a range of opportunities for societal advancement, a discernable gap remains: a scarcity of consumer-oriented applications tailored to the unique physiological and psychological needs of these individuals. Key takeaways underscore the emergent promise of tailored auditory stimuli in workplace dynamics and the efficacy of haptic feedback in sensory substitution. The investigation concludes with an urgent call for multidisciplinary research aimed at the development of specific consumer applications, rigorous empirical validation, and an ethical framework encompassing data privacy and user consent. As the pervasiveness of technology in daily life continues to expand, the article posits that there is an imperative for future research to shift from generalized solutions to individualized applications, thereby ensuring that the spectrum of wearable technology truly accommodates the full scope of human neurodiversity

Wearable Technology: Opportunities and Challenges for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Developing Countries

The higher education landscape in developing countries is faced with many challenges, one of which is high faculty to student ratio. An obvious implication of this is compromise on the quality of classroom engagement. The distractions caused by the not conducive learning space and instructors’ inability to elucidate correct feedbacks from students usually lead to poor learning outcomes. Feedback mechanisms that are unobtrusive and efficient in processing large data in real-time are needful to measure quality learning experience in such large classroom settings. With the latest impact of penetration and adoption of internet and mobile technologies in most developing counties, wearable technology is a feasible solution to manage and monitor classroom involvement; as real time student feedback can be integrated in the design and delivery of instruction in and out of the classroom. In this paper, we present state of the art of wearable technology and explored the opportunities of wearable technology in the higher education. Specifically, we presented scenarios in which wearable technology can be employed to understand and analyze physiological signals and emotional responses from learners in real-time; the end result of which would increase the quality of classroom engagement, inspire new pedagogy, drive new trends in peer-to-peer collaborations, and increase the learning outcomes. Moreover, we identified some challenges that may hinder this development such as: inconclusive user studies of wearable technology in developing countries and inadequate infrastructure. Finally, we make appropriate recommendations on how these challenges can be surmounte

Customizable Wearable Vibrotactile Display for Gait Biofeedback Research

ME450 Capstone Design and Manufacturing Experience: Winter 2021Approximately a third of American adults experience balance problems throughout their lifetime which can lead to a fear of falling, activity avoidance, and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. While gait and balance training regimens are the most common therapeutic solution for adults with increased risk for falling, interventions that involve personalized biofeedback have been successfully shown to improve standing balance in research studies; however, it is still unclear how best to provide meaningful biofeedback during gait-related activities. Current gait correction systems are limited to providing feedback on a single gait parameter which cannot capture the full complexity of gait, and commonly use only one feedback scheme/modality. Additionally, many devices cannot provide the device wearer with immediate feedback. Therefore, there is a need to develop a customizable/reconfigurable wearable device to be used in a research setting, which will explore the effects of vibrotactile feedback on individuals with vestibular disorders. This device must be able to gather information on multiple kinematic parameters related to gait and provide vibrotactile feedback for the device wearer to interpret and correct their balance irregularities within each testing trial. Ultimately, this research platform will inform the development of a clinic-based and home-based biofeedback system.Christopher DiCesare, Safa Jabri, Kathleen Sienko: Sienko Research Labhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167651/1/Team_7-Customizable_Wearable_Vibrotactile_Display_for_Gait_Biofeedback_Research.pd

Beyond mobile apps: a survey of technologies for mental well-being

Mental health problems are on the rise globally and strain national health systems worldwide. Mental disorders are closely associated with fear of stigma, structural barriers such as financial burden, and lack of available services and resources which often prohibit the delivery of frequent clinical advice and monitoring. Technologies for mental well-being exhibit a range of attractive properties, which facilitate the delivery of state-of-the-art clinical monitoring. This review article provides an overview of traditional techniques followed by their technological alternatives, sensing devices, behaviour changing tools, and feedback interfaces. The challenges presented by these technologies are then discussed with data collection, privacy, and battery life being some of the key issues which need to be carefully considered for the successful deployment of mental health toolkits. Finally, the opportunities this growing research area presents are discussed including the use of portable tangible interfaces combining sensing and feedback technologies. Capitalising on the data these ubiquitous devices can record, state of the art machine learning algorithms can lead to the development of robust clinical decision support tools towards diagnosis and improvement of mental well-being delivery in real-time

Towards the Design of a Smartphone-Based Biofeedback Breathing Training: Indentifying Diaphragmatic Breathing Patterns From a Smartphones\u27 Microphone

Asthma, diabetes, hypertension, or major depression are non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and impose a major burden on global health. Stress is linked to both the causes and consequences of NCDs and it has been shown that biofeedback-based breathing trainings (BBTs) are effective in coping with stress. Here, diaphragmatic breathing, i.e. deep abdominal breathing, belongs to the most distinguished breathing techniques. However, high costs and low scalability of state-of-the-art BBTs that require expensive medical hardware and health professionals, represent a significant barrier for their widespread adoption. Health information technology has the potential to address this important practical problem. Particularly, it has been shown that a smartphone microphone has the ability to record audio signals from exhalation in a quality that can be compared to professional respiratory devices. As this finding is highly relevant for low-cost and scalable smartphone-based BBTs (SBBT) and – to the best of our knowledge - because it has not been investigated so far, we aim to design and evaluate the efficacy of such a SBBT. As a very first step, we apply design-science research and investigate in this research-in-progress the relationship of diaphragmatic breathing and its acoustic components by just using a smartphone’s microphone. For that purpose, we review related work and develop our hypotheses based on justificatory knowledge from physiology, physics and acoustics. We finally describe a laboratory study that is used to test our hypotheses. We conclude with a brief outlook on future work

Measurement of Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability with Wearable Devices: A Systematic Review

Wearables are a ubiquitous trend in both commercial and academic settings as they easily enable tracking and monitoring of physiological parameters such as heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). This paper presents a literature review to survey the existing Neuro-Information-Systems (NeuroIS) literature on HR and HRV with a focus on measurement based on wearable devices. We addressed the following four research questions: Who published HR and HRV research? What kind of HR and HRV research has been published? With which wearable devices was HR and HRV measured? How reliable and valid are HR and HRV measurements based on wearable devices? Our review provides answers to these questions and concludes that further efforts are needed to advance the field from both a theoretical and methodological perspective