Fujitsu has taken the wraps off new software-based technology that turns PC or smartphone cameras into a real-time pulse monitor that uses facial imaging to detect a user’s pulse.
The tech is due to be unveiled at the 2013 General Conference of the Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers at Gifu, Japan tomorrow but Fujitsu gave a little advance notice of the development, along with a brief explanations as to how it works.
The software detects someone’s pulse by measuring the brightness in a person’s face, something which is possible by the green light absorption properties of hemoglobin. Averages of red, green and blue light in a person’s face are measures by a camera and the peaks in green brightness can reveal a user’s pulse rate in a claimed five seconds.
There are a number of corrective measures built in to the system, accounting for movement and odd facial angles, that supposedly enhance the accuracy of the technology. Fujitsu has plans for the pulse monitor, including using it as a “security or health monitoring and maintenance solution”, and hopes to include it in PCs, phones and tablets in the near future.
Source: The Verge