Google FIT now lets you measure your heart and respiratory rate using the Google Fit app and cameras on an Android phone.
To measure the number of breaths you take per minute, Google Fit is using your Android device’s front-facing camera.
To measure respiratory rate, or the breaths you take per minute, open the latest version of the Google Fit app and simply point your Pixel phone’s front-facing camera at your head and chest.
Google is measuring your respiratory rate by detecting small changes on your chest. The company touts advances in computer vision that make it possible to “track tiny physical signals at the pixel level.”
Measuring heart rate involves placing your finger on the rear-facing camera lens and applying light pressure.
To measure your heart rate, place your finger over the rear-facing camera. Google said its features also use machine learning.
Google is tracking the “subtle changes in the color of your fingers” to approximate blood flow. The heart rate algorithms account for lighting, skin tone, age, and other factors.
Google Fit is a health-tracking platform developed by Google for the Android operating system, Wear OS and Apple Inc.’s IOS. It is a single set of APIs that blends data from multiple apps and devices.
Google Fit uses sensors in a user’s activity tracker or mobile device to record physical fitness activities (such as walking, cycling, etc.), which are measured against the user’s fitness goals to provide a comprehensive view of their fitness.