Boost fitness tracker accuracy using high-accuracy pressure sensors
11 March 2021
Wearable devices with fitness tracking capability are growing in popularity among consumers. (Image source: Digi-Key Electronics, from TE Connectivity source material)
Wearable devices with health and fitness tracking capabilities are growing in popularity. While accelerometers typically feature as a key motion sensor in such applications, they are limited in their ability to provide an accurate estimate of vertical motion, which is essential for accurately determining such parameters as calories expended when climbing an incline.
The addition of a precision atmospheric pressure sensor can greatly improve accuracy in measuring this vertical movement, while also helping in the validation of information from other sensors.
Atmospheric pressure sensors are now available that are sensitive enough to detect as little as a 13 centimetre (cm) change in altitude, and come in compact, low-power, and ruggedised form factors suitable for wearable designs.
This article discusses the role of such devices in fitness trackers, introduces an example of an air pressure sensor from TE Connectivity Measurement Specialties that can be used for this application, and then shows how to apply it.
Click here to read the full article on the DigiKey website.
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