These Pants Use Optical Fibers to Detect Wearers' Activities
Rahul Kalvapalle — June 29, 2023 — Lifestyle
References: optica.org & eurekalert.org
A team of researchers at the Federal University of Espirito Santo in Brazil have devised high-tech smart pants that are designed to be able to keep tabs on the movements and physical activities of their wearers.
These smart pants make use of a pair of optical fibers that bend as the person wearing the pants goes about their daily movements, causing light to escape and reducing the strength of the resulting signal. This signal is then monitored in conjunction with machine learning and a microprocessor in order to be able to figure out what the wearer is engaging in.
In lab tests, activities such as walking, fast walking, sitting and kicking were detected with 100 percent accuracy. What's more, this system respects wearers' privacy a lot more than technologies that make use of cameras. As a result, these smart pants could display a lot of potential in being a non-invasive way to monitor elderly people for example or stay on top of patient rehabilitation processes.
Image Credit: Arnaldo Leal-Junior / Federal University of Espirito Santo
These smart pants make use of a pair of optical fibers that bend as the person wearing the pants goes about their daily movements, causing light to escape and reducing the strength of the resulting signal. This signal is then monitored in conjunction with machine learning and a microprocessor in order to be able to figure out what the wearer is engaging in.
In lab tests, activities such as walking, fast walking, sitting and kicking were detected with 100 percent accuracy. What's more, this system respects wearers' privacy a lot more than technologies that make use of cameras. As a result, these smart pants could display a lot of potential in being a non-invasive way to monitor elderly people for example or stay on top of patient rehabilitation processes.
Image Credit: Arnaldo Leal-Junior / Federal University of Espirito Santo
Trend Themes
1. Smart Clothing - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop advanced sensors and data analytics to create smart clothing that can monitor users' activities and provide valuable insights for various applications.
2. Optical Fiber Technology - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore optical fiber technology for applications beyond communication, such as activity monitoring in wearable devices, offering accurate data collection with low intrusiveness.
3. Privacy-focused Monitoring - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create monitoring systems that prioritize privacy by using non-invasive methods like optical fibers, providing a potential solution for monitoring elderly individuals or patients in rehabilitation.
Industry Implications
1. Wearable Technology - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop wearable technology that integrates advanced sensors and data analytics to track users' activities and provide personalized insights for fitness, healthcare, and other applications.
2. Textile and Apparel - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrate optical fibers and smart textile technologies into garments to create high-tech clothing that can monitor users' movements and activities, opening up possibilities for various industries from sports to healthcare.
3. Healthcare Technology - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Apply smart clothing and optical fiber monitoring technologies to revolutionize healthcare monitoring, enhancing remote patient rehabilitation, eldercare, and other healthcare processes while respecting privacy.
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