Abstract
Hand-grip strength is widely used to estimate muscle strength and it serves as a general indicator of the overall health of a person, particularly in aging adults. Hand-grip strength is typically estimated using dynamometers or specialized force resistant pressure sensors embedded onto objects. Both of these solutions require the user to interact with a dedicated measurement device which unnecessarily restricts the contexts where estimates are acquired. We contribute HIPPO, a novel non-intrusive and opportunistic method for estimating hand-grip strength from everyday interactions with objects. HIPPO re-purposes light sensors available in wearables (e.g., rings or gloves) to capture changes in light reflectivity when people interact with objects. This allows HIPPO to non-intrusively piggyback everyday interactions for health information without affecting the user’s everyday routines. We present two prototypes integrating HIPPO, an early smart glove proof-of-concept, and a further optimized solution that uses sensors integrated onto a ring. We validate HIPPO through extensive experiments and compare HIPPO against three baselines, including a clinical dynamometer. Our results show that HIPPO operates robustly across a wide range of everyday objects, and participants. The force strength estimates correlate with estimates produced by pressure-based devices, and can also determine the correct hand grip strength category with up to 86% accuracy. Our findings also suggest that users prefer our approach to existing solutions as HIPPO blends the estimation with everyday interactions.
Agustin Zuniga
Pervasive Data Science group
Dr. Agustin Zuniga works in the areas of pervasive data science and artificial intelligence of things, especially in low-cost sensing and intelligent sensing pipeline solutions.