Smartwatch-Based Sensing Framework for Continuous Data Collection: Design and Implementation
Yuuki Nishiyama, Kaoru Sezaki · 2023
Smartwatches are an increasingly popular technology that employs advanced sensors (e.g., location, motion, and microphone) comparable to those used by smartphones. Passive mobile sensing, a method of acquiring human behavior data from mobile and wearable devices inconspicuously, is widely used in research fields related to behavior analysis. In combination with machine learning, passive mobile sensing can be used to interpret various human and environmental contexts without requiring user intervention. Because smartwatches are always worn on the wrist, they have the potential to collect data that cannot be collected by smartphones. However, the effective use of smartwatches as platforms for passive mobile sensing poses challenges in terms of battery life, storage, and communication. To address these challenges, we designed and implemented a tailored framework for off-the-shelf smartwatches. We evaluated power consumption under eight different sensing conditions using three smartwatches. The results demonstrate that the framework can collect sensor data with a battery life of 16-31 h depending on the settings. Finally, we considered potential future solutions for optimizing power consumption in passive sensing with off-the-shelf smartwatches.