Holistic Fitness Tracking by Integrating Environmental Data Monitoring With Health Data

The problem with conventional fitness trackers is that they take their measurements in isolation from external environmental conditions. Several studies have disclosed that the effectiveness of physical exertion is not a function of only internal parameters like heart rate and step rate, but also largely dependent on external parameters such as air quality index and temperature. In fact, prolonged exposure to poor air quality during elevated metabolism periods (work-out periods) can affect the individual's cognition in addition to deteriorating their physical exertion capability. The reason why air quality monitors are not conventionally included in portable fitness trackers is because of their typical large sizes. In this paper, we explore a way to miniaturise these air quality monitors in order to integrate them into a portable system for outdoor exercising. The means is via a system comprising of two wearable devices in intermittent wireless communication. One of the devices is worn on the wrist for monitoring the athlete's internal vitals, while the other is worn on the arm for monitoring air quality parameters like particulate matter concentration and humidity. Data collected is uploaded to an online database at hourly intervals for evaluation by health professionals should the need arise. After testing, the device was found to give impressive step counting accuracies of between 90 and 98 percent, and convenient battery lives of 7 hours and 12 hours. The whole system recorded a combined weight of 450g, making it excellently portable and non-disruptive to athlete workouts.