Google is introducing new features to test your heart rate

 

If you are a bit health conscious, you will be pleased with the new feature launched by Google. This new tool gives you the opportunity to take vital health measurements using your smartphone camera.

Usually, these health and fitness features were only available on wearable devices. This is because it requires specialised hardware including red or green light-based heart-rate monitors. Now, things will be easier for those who do not have a smartwatch. Initially, the system will be rolled out on Google Pixel phones exclusively. However, there are plans to offer it on Android devices in the future. Thanks to this, users will be able to take both their heart and respiratory rates using their phone’s camera.

Google’s hardware and software teams, such as Google Health unit, have managed to develop a technology with computer vision-based methods that make this possible. Thanks to this, the new feature is able to produce results that are comparable to clinical-grade measurement hardware. For the respiratory rate, the tool is based on a technique known as “optical flow”. This monitors movement in the user’s chest as he/she breathes to determine breathing rate. According to Google’s data, obtained from a study that it conducted, this technology is accurate within 1 breath per minute across all participants.


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