2023-08-14 18:36:18
Despite having several capabilities that greatly help users to pay greater attention to health and well-being, there is a still laconic point, so to speak, in the Apple Watches: the measurement of weightlifting. Although there are applications that allow a more complete monitoring of this type of exercise, the device does not have the capacity to identify the amount of strength expended by the user.
As noted by MyHealthyApplehowever, Maçã opened, at the end of last month, a vacancy for the health technology sector that may indicate a change in this direction. This job offer is aimed at engineers who, among other qualifications, have experience with analog electronics, “preferably mechatronic systems” that use actuators, temperature sensors, photodiodes e extensometers.
Currently, the latest Apple Watches have all of these components, minus the extensometers. They serve to measure variations in the resistance of a body when a force is applied, being able to convert these changes into measurements. This type of sensor has several types of applications, including areas such as health and motion detection, among others.
The Exercise app (Workout), native to watchOS, even has a strength training monitoring option. The system, however, uses heart rate and data such as the user’s age, weight and height to determine the amount of calories expended – not the amount of weight being lifted, the number of repetitions and the like.
Heart rate is, however, more suitable for monitoring aerobic exercise, as it measures cardiovascular impact. When it comes to strength/muscle training, heart rate is not exactly proportional to the force you expend when lifting weights, and greater accuracy is needed to provide metrics about exercises.
Other Applications
In addition to this greater ability to monitor strength training, extensometers have even more potential. A survey by North Carolina State University (United States), for example, showed how the sensors — when placed in a flexible format on the wrist and in another position of the arm — are capable of also measuring the blood pressurefeature ventilated for the Apple watch for some time.
Also according to the study, even just a strain gauge positioned on a body part in a non-invasive way can detect different levels of pressure exerted throughout the body. Even though some third-party apps use sensors like the accelerometer to monitor strength training, it’s remarkable how this new component would bring an unprecedented level of accuracy for this and other purposes.
The open position explains that the new employee will work on designing, building and testing new hardware. Various stages of development are described, such as prototype fabrication and circuit processes, as well as areas in which the person will work, which includes physiological research and human studies.
Although there are no explicit mentions of the Apple Watch, it is very likely that these initiatives are related to the device. In any case, it is important to note that this is still an expectation regarding the use of strain gauges, without any guarantee that we will see the technology implemented in the watch or when it will occur.
Apple Watch Ultra
Apple Watch Series 8
Apple Watch SE
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