Future Possibilities in Electronic Monitoring of Physical Activity

Computer technology is moving far beyond the desk top paradigm of word processors and spreadsheets. Wearable computers and tiny programmable microprocessors are allowing mobile monitoring and real-time in situation processing of digital signals from physiological sensors and cameras. These tiny, sensor-oriented computers can be sewn into clothing and embedded into accessories such as shoes orjewelry. Mobile signal processing offers an unprecedented opportunity to collect a vast amount of digital data about a person's physical activity. A daily record of physical activity, including heart rate, muscle activity, respiration, and skin conductivity can be taken non-invasively and correlated with a digital photo diary composed of images from a computer controlled camera. This visual record can show the effects of various activities on a person's physiology, providing a quantitative record of how, for example, standing, walking, or drinking coffee affects a person's heart rate and autonomic nervous system activity. The video annotation of the data also facilitates defining subject activities for longterm scientific analysis. The main benefit of this method is that no effort is required on the part of the subject to collect this data. The record of an hour of activity can be seen at one glance in a single computer screen and quickly categorized. The user also has the option ofadding his or her annotations to the activity record using a chordic keyboard or palm computer interface. These annotations can be time stamped with the data and appear on the physiological record, as shown in Figures 912. In the future, clothing and accessories may be designed specifically to include computers and sensors, making physiological monitoring not a sign of physical handicap, but rather a hallmark of cutting-edge fashion.