Invasion of the Body Trackers

摘要

Personal fitness monitors designed to encourage healthy habits typically involve uncomfortable gear, such as chest straps and armbands, that can discourage people from wearing them. As sensors shrink and software improves, health-tracking systems are becoming less intrusive and capable of collecting more biometric data. One day, users may not have to don any equipment at all. Start-up company Scanadu is creating a monitoring device that can sense a user's vital signs without any contact. The Tricorder could record chest movement and face-color fluctuations with a digital video camera. Software would then analyze the footage to determine a person's respiration and heart rates, respectively. An infrared camera in the device will also record body temperature. The company may include other monitors, too, such as ones that could sense disease-associated molecules that people exhale Into the air. The Tricorder could be on the market as early as 2014.