Microsoft Bra battles emotional overeating [View all]

[denem]

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)

Microsoft researchers aren't just thinking about operating systems. They're thinking about undergarments with a purpose, specifically a smart bra that monitors the wearer's mood with the aim of preventing stress-related overeating.

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.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57614234-1/stress-buster-microsoft-bra-battles-emotional-overeating/


Stress Related Eating