From Sensors to Miniature Networked SensorButtons

Abstract

Wearable computing aims to empower people by providing intelligence embedded within garments. It relies on sensors placed at different locations of the body. To foster useracceptance sensors should be small, light, and unobtrusive. In this paper we present a wearable platform that addresses those challenges: a miniature networked SensorButton with the form factor of a button, so that it can be integrated in garments in an unobtrusive way. It has several sensors used in wearable computing, on-board processing power, a wireless link for sensor networking or communication with a base station, and it focuses on low power consumption. We describe its use to recognize user activity and highlight the need for further research in poweraware algorithms for wearable computing