Wearable Breathing Rate Estimation via Motion-Audio Sensor Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for determining a user's breathing rate are often active, inconvenient, and inaccurate due to conscious awareness and external motion interference, with passive methods like respiratory belts being uncomfortable and expensive, and smartwatch-based methods being unreliable.
Innovation Solution
A head-mounted device with a six-axis IMU and microphone that uses machine learning to differentiate breathing signals from other motion and noise, employing a combination of motion and audio sensors to accurately estimate breathing rate through intelligent sensor activation and data filtering techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If active methods are used to determine breathing rate, then user participation is required, but accuracy decreases due to conscious awareness affecting breathing
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs breathing rate determination automatically without requiring user action or participation. The wearable device continuously monitors breathing parameters using onboard sensors and processing capabilities, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring user intervention, thereby eliminating the accuracy degradation caused by conscious awareness.
2Measurement precision
If passive methods like respiratory belts are used, then user comfort is reduced, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable device integrates multiple functions including breathing rate determination, motion tracking, and other health monitoring capabilities into a single platform. By making the device universal and multi-functional, specialized breathing monitoring equipment like respiratory belts becomes unnecessary, reducing both device complexity and cost while maintaining measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical respiratory belt systems with electronic sensor-based monitoring using accelerometers and other onboard sensors. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical components while achieving comparable or superior measurement precision through digital signal processing.
3Ease of operation
If motion sensors are used in smartwatches, then device portability is improved, but measurement precision decreases due to motion interference
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and isolates the specific breathing-related motion signals from the total motion data captured by the accelerometer. By separating the breathing signal component from other motion components through signal processing techniques, the system maintains the portability benefits of wearable motion sensors while eliminating motion interference that degrades measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces signal processing algorithms and data filtering techniques as intermediaries between the raw motion sensor data and the final breathing rate measurement. These intermediary processing steps act as a bridge that removes motion interference while preserving the underlying breathing signal, thereby maintaining both portability and accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method includes accessing, from a first sensor of a wearable device, motion data representing motion of a user and determining, from the motion data, an activity level of the user. The method includes selecting, based on the activity level, an activity-based technique for estimating the breathing rate of the user, which is used to determine a breathing rate of the user. The method further includes determining a quality associated with the breathing rate and comparing the determined quality with a threshold. If the determined quality is not less than the threshold, then the method includes using the determined breathing rate as a final breathing-rate determination for the user. If the determined quality is less than the threshold, then the method includes activating a second sensor of the wearable device and determining, based on data from the second sensor, a breathing rate for the user.