The new Exmocare wristwatch monitors the wearer’s heart rate and heart rate variability, in addition to the wearer’s galvanic skin response and relative movement. Using a technique called photoplethysmography, the wristwatch measures blood volume pulse (BVP) via infrared LEDs, sending an infrared beam towards the skin’s surface. The watch calculates the BVP by measuring the infrared light reflected from the wearer’s skin. This technique allows the Exmocare watch to monitor one’s heart rate from the bottom of the watch.
The Exmocare wristwatch uses these physical signals in order to analyze the wearer’s emotional state. Any emotional state leads to a specific, detectable change in our body. The wearer’s emotional state is inferred based on general knowledge about the physiological expression of emotions, as well as on the specific context of an individual’s physiology.
When the Exmocare watch is worn over a period of time, it learns to recognize the wearer’s baseline physical state, This allows the watch to analyze various changes by comparing them to the individual’s normal state. By recognizing the context, the device can produce more accurate reports on the person’s feelings.
One can decide who receives the monitored information as well as what information they will receive. User-configurable alerts enable the wearer to choose how others will be notified in case something is wrong (by email, SMS, or instant messaging). When something happens to the wearer, the watch sends a signal to a PC. The PC passes the information through the Internet, and from there the caregiver, friend, or relative can receive the alert even to their cell phone.
By notifying the wearer and the caretakers of even the slightest physiological changes, the watch can act as a preventative early warning system. Exmocare draws attention to our body’s warning signals, helping us to make necessary lifestyle changes and receive the support we need. This unique watch can also be used to monitor people with chronic illnesses and help manage personal fitness and weight loss.
According to information supplied to TFOT by representative form Exmocare, the new watch will include a host of cutting edge technologies in one small device, including: onboard DSP,local storage of physiological information, connectivity over GSM for remote monitoring, point-to-point wireless ZigBee communication, remote location tracking and an OLED user interface.
TFOT recently covered a different technology that can monitor physiological signs called BioHarness, which was developed by the New-Zealand based company Zephyr. TFOT also covered a different invention developed by NEC, called KOTOHANA, 2 flower-shaped terminals equipped with LEDs that recognize your emotions by analyzing speech patterns.
More information on the Exmocare wristwatch can be found on the company’s website.