New wearable sensor tech to help quit smoking!

Using wearable sensor technology, researchers have developed an automatic alert system that may help people to quit smoking by sending video messages.

The smartphone app — initially limited to android-based operating systems ­ automatically texts 20 to 120-second video messages to smokers when sensors detect specific arm and body motions associated with smoking.

 “We have been able to differentiate between a single motion, which could be confused with eating or drinking, and a sequence of motions more clearly linked to the act of smoking a cigarette,” said lead author Ming-Chun Huang from the Case Western Reserve University in the US. 

According to the researchers, the mobile alert system that they are testing may be the first that combines an existing online platform with mindfulness training and a personalised plan for quitting smoking.