SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Thursday unveiled an updated fitness app that uses smartphone camera capabilities to measure relief and heart rate.
Google Fit already uses smartphone sensors to determine how long people walk or how many calories they burn, but new features will add Google Pixel phones to pulse and breathe data health that the app presses.
Sensors and software that make it possible to take stunning photos with smartphones or automatically convert streaming video to how handheld devices are used to sense relief and heartbeat, according to health technologies team leader Google, Shwetak Patel.
“We’re seeing more and more smart devices with more and more sensors in them,” Patel said, emphasizing the smartphone as the most ubiquitous. “The same sensors can be used for health and well-being. “
A change will come next month to the Fit app designed for Google-made Pixel smartphones using camera sensors to detect someone’s chest moving while breathing, measuring their respiratory rate.
Placing fingers on the lens allows Fit to use a camera to determine how fast a person’s heart is beating based on how skin color changes as blood is pumped, members explained of the team.
All data processing is done on smartphones, and users will have the option to securely save results in their accounts at Google datacenters. The Fit app allows users to set activity or health goals and weave in artificial intelligence to coach them on how to achieve goals.
“If you think about health care, the journey doesn’t end at the hospital,” Patel said. “This journey is truly an ongoing journey because you live your daily life, and being able to know giving you back and measuring your general wellbeing is an important thing. “Google plans to add the capabilities to versions of Fit for other smartphones with Android software, and finally the app for iPhones.
Connected facilities such as activity tracking bracelets or jars are already being used to monitor lifestyle with prospective health. Apple has made health a selling point for its smart watch, which includes a number of features including electrocardiograms and measuring blood oxygen levels. Google did not specify plans for one day making money from the Fit app.
