College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012 Jan;44(1 Suppl 1):S24-31. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182399c7d.
Accelerometry and other sensing technologies are important tools for physical activity measurement. Engineering advances have allowed developers to transform clunky, uncomfortable, and conspicuous monitors into relatively small, ergonomic, and convenient research tools. New devices can be used to collect data on overall physical activity and, in some cases, posture, physiological state, and location, for many days or weeks from subjects during their everyday lives. In this review article, we identify emerging trends in several types of monitoring technologies and gaps in the current state of knowledge.
The only certainty about the future of activity-sensing technologies is that researchers must anticipate and plan for change. We propose a set of best practices that may accelerate adoption of new devices and increase the likelihood that data being collected and used today will be compatible with new data sets and methods likely to appear on the horizon.
We describe several technology-driven trends, ranging from continued miniaturization of devices that provide gross summary information about activity levels and energy expenditure to new devices that provide highly detailed information about the specific type, amount, and location of physical activity. Some devices will take advantage of consumer technologies, such as mobile phones, to detect and respond to physical activity in real time, creating new opportunities in measurement, remote compliance monitoring, data-driven discovery, and intervention.
加速度计和其他感应技术是测量身体活动的重要工具。工程学的进步使得开发人员能够将笨重、不舒服和显眼的监测器转变为相对较小、符合人体工程学和方便的研究工具。新设备可用于收集有关日常活动以及在某些情况下姿势、生理状态和位置的整体数据，这些数据可以在受试者日常生活中持续数天或数周从他们身上获取。在这篇综述文章中，我们确定了几种监测技术的新兴趋势和当前知识状况中的差距。
关于感应技术的未来，唯一确定的是研究人员必须预测并规划变化。我们提出了一套最佳实践，这些实践可能会加速新设备的采用，并增加今天收集和使用的数据与未来可能出现的新数据集和方法的兼容性。
我们描述了几种技术驱动的趋势，从提供关于活动水平和能量消耗的总体摘要信息的设备的持续小型化到提供有关具体类型、数量和位置的身体活动的高度详细信息的新设备。一些设备将利用移动电话等消费技术来实时检测和响应身体活动，从而在测量、远程依从性监测、数据驱动的发现和干预方面创造新的机会。
