Involved disciplines Electrical Engineering in PAnalytics

Development of wearable devices for an improved Human-Computer-Interaction

As a significant progress compared to existing approaches it is planned to present the information depending on the situation and condition of the user. By means of that, the Human-Computer-Interaction shall be improved.

While the physical condition from the medical point of view is quantifiable (synonymous for health, freedom of symptoms), for example as pulse, breathing rate, blood values etc., measuring the mental condition (synonymous for wellbeing, balance, comfort, emotion, stress) is a challenging task. Thus there is a special focus on making the mental and emotional condition “measurable”.

The development from the Electrical Engineering perspective focuses on technologies that are unobtrusive and can be integrated into mobile devices. Special attention is paid to physiological parameters of the cardiovascular system. For example, the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and the Pulse Transit Time (PTT), that show high correlations to psychological processes and can be measured using the method of Photoplethysmography (PPG). The overall goal is to extend the functionality (e.g., quantity and quality of parameters) of existing devices, but still considering usability (e.g., simplicity, comfort).