MIT Researchers Develop Technology to Measure Walking Speed Using Wireless Signals

Posted on May 4, 2017

MIT researchers have developed technology that measures a person's walking speed using wireless signals.

Past research has indicated that walking gait can be used as a measure of a person's overall health. It can even predict some cardiac and pulmonary disease as well as indicate cognitive decline.

The technology called WiGait has a 95% to 99% accuracy according to the scientists. It does not require a person to wear a tracking device. WiGait measures how wireless signals are reflected off a person's body. It is currently the size of a small painting and can placed on the wall of a home.

Professor Dina Katabi at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), says, "Many avoidable hospitalizations are related to issues like falls, congestive heart disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which have all been shown to be correlated to gait speed. Reducing the number of hospitalizations, even by a small amount, could vastly improve health care costs."


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