Non-contact physical activity estimation method based on electrostatic induction technique

We here present a method for measuring human physical activity, which is based on detecting the electrostatic induction current generated by the walking motion under non-contact and non-attached conditions. A theoretical model for the electrostatic induction current generated because of a change in the electric potential of the human body is also proposed. By comparing the obtained electrostatic induction current with the theoretical model, it becomes obvious that this model effectively explains the behavior of the waveform of the electrostatic induction current. The normal walking motions of daily living are recorded using a portable sensor measurement located in an ordinary house. The obtained results show that detailed information regarding physical activity such as a walking cycle can be estimated using our proposed technique. This suggests that the proposed technique, which is based on the detection of the walking signal, can be successfully applied to the estimation of human physical activity.