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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMicrosoft Bra battles emotional overeating
Last edited Mon Dec 2, 2013, 07:32 PM - Edit history (1)
A prototype bra from Microsoft researchers uses sensors to follow the wearer's mood with a goal of helping prevent stress-related eating (With gyroscope and accelerometer, no, not The Onion)Mary Czerwinski, a research manager with Microsoft's Visualization and Interaction Research Group, is studying how technology can help detect stress and give people tools for dealing with it. One of her recent projects involved the creation of a bra with embedded electrocardiogram and electrodermal activity sensors (PDF), as well as a gyroscope and accelerometer.
"It's mostly women who are emotional overeaters, and it turns out that a bra is perfect for measuring EKG," Czerwinski told Discovery News.
Test subjects wore the removable sensors with their own personal bras, so it wasn't one-size-fits-all. Data from the sensors was sent to a smartphone app so the women could track their moods. The researchers were able to see whether the women were stressed based on the collected signals, proving that a wearable, mobile mood-detection system is feasible.
Stress Related Eating
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,836 posts)Blue Owl
(50,498 posts)n/t
Buns_of_Fire
(17,195 posts)I'm not even going to guess what that's for. (It sounds kinda kinky, if you ask me. But then everything sounds kinky if you ask me.)
Cirque du So-What
(25,978 posts)that the gyroscope & accelerometer detect sudden movements resulting from the wearer trying to accomplish tasks at breakneck speed - a sign of stress.
Buns_of_Fire
(17,195 posts)Interpretation of the results would vary from individual to individual, I guess. In my case, stress doesn't cause me to speed up -- when I'm really stressed out, I tend to fall asleep.
Cirque du So-What
(25,978 posts)Believe me, when I'm stressed, the last thing I want to do is scurry around at breakneck speed, but when the situation sometimes requires it, stress is induced. In my case, the hustle-and-bustle is a cause of stress - not the effect.
Matariki
(18,775 posts)It doesn't end well.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,381 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)monmouth3
(3,871 posts)cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)denem
(11,045 posts)Mr Ballmer I presume.
monmouth3
(3,871 posts)NickB79
(19,258 posts)But the sensors they put in men's underwear were too far from the heart, so they got poor readings on blood pressure, pulse rate, etc.
NickB79
(19,258 posts)"X-Bra: OFF!"
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)and its stuffed to the gills with useless crap
sakabatou
(42,174 posts)Revanchist
(1,375 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)"Enter password then click OK."
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)nolabear
(41,991 posts)I kid. But it just might give people some important info. People very often act on feelings that are outside their conscious awareness. It would probably work on men too if they would wear it and people didn't giggle.
denem
(11,045 posts)nt
11 Bravo
(23,926 posts)Orrex
(63,224 posts)petronius
(26,603 posts)it would be to have my underwear telling me about it - when I'm standing over the sink with a tub of ice cream, I pretty much already know what's going on.
Frankly, if my boxers piped up and said "Ya know, P, you're a little stressed right now. Maybe you should go for a nice run instead of eating that croissant!" I'd be more inclined to eat two croissants and send the boxers down the garbage disposal...
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)in the 70s: