Researchers from Clemson University in South Carolina have created the Bite Counter, a measurement device for monitoring how much you eat. The watch-like device tracks a pattern of wrist-roll motions to identify when the wearer has taken a bite of food. It then uses sophisticated filters and heuristics to determine whether the movement really represented the user taking a bite of food or a drink of a liquid, reaching about 90% accuracy.
Calories are calculated from bite count based upon a formula similar to what is used in exercise equipment for estimating calories burned. The real-time bite count can be observed while eating, or the daily total can be checked, with a count-based alarm buzzer to cue yourself to stop eating. The device also has a USB connection for downloading the data log to a computer for long-term analysis and visualization. The goal of the project is to remove user bias, providing objective numbers about food intake (as long as you don’t cheat by using your non-dominant hand to take some bites).
Users still have to turn the device on before every meal and turn it off afterwards, as battery life is rated at a meager 14 hours per charge. And as much as we applaud simple innovative medical devices like this, we doubt any self-conscious person will walk around with a $799 device around his wrist that makes a digital wristwatch from the eighties look modern and slim (although future iterations might improve on that).
Press release: Clemson University researchers are making every bite count…
Product page: Bite Counter…
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