Now, this is seriously cool. Google has today announced that the Google Fit mobile app can now turn your phone into a health monitor that can measure heart rate and respiratory rate. Yes, really! And to do so, your phone will rely only on its camera to take the readings. The two aforementioned capabilities will make their way to Pixel smartphones first. However, Google plans to expand this neat feature to phones from other brands as well. So, how is it done using your phone’s camera? Here’s a little explanation in Google’s own words:
“Thanks to increasingly powerful sensors and advances in computer vision, these features let you use your smartphone’s camera to track tiny physical signals at the pixel level — like chest movements to measure your respiratory rate and subtle changes in the color of your fingers for your heart rate.”
