Chill+
Wrist-worn fitness devices are a big success on the consumer market. But there’s a lot more health data to be collected at the wrist beyond activity. If you want to take wireless health tracking to a higher level, imec’s Chill+ prototype is an excellent starting point.
Clinical-grade research prototype
A wristband is already a well-established form factor for collecting physiological data. By expanding the number of parameters and enhancing the quality of the measured data, imec created a wearable that’s ready for research and clinical environments.
Long-term wireless data collection
The ergonomic and user-friendly design of the Chill+ harbors several sensing capabilities:
- galvanic skin response (GSR), with high dynamic range and accuracy
- photoplethysmograph (PPG) and PPG-based heart rate
- skin temperature at the upper side of the wrist
- movement through a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope
Continuous and long-term collection of that information is assured by the storage capacity of more than 15 days’ worth of data. All the signals are stored in raw format.
The content of the display on Chill+ can be modified to incorporate different types of feedback, related to physiology, stress, time, etc.
Data transfer to a smartphone or PC is easy thanks to the integrated Bluetooth and USB connections.
Range of possibilities at hand
Because the Chill+ uniquely combines physiological sensing with acceleration and gyroscope measurement, you can use it to build a complete user profile. And that opens the door to many applications.
Take stress research, for example. GSR, heart rate and temperature are important stress indicators. By combining those with activity and contextual data during long-term observation, it’s possible to get a complete picture of the factors that trigger stress responses. And to refine stress detection models.
Interested in using this technology?
