Gait recognition refers to the use of a person’s way of walking as a biometric identification observed Bahaa Abdul Hadi. Apart from biometrics, gait recognition has many other applications including in healthcare. Today wearable technology has become popular with smartwatches and other equipment being commonly used. Wearables and gait recognition can be used together. Let us discuss how.

The relation between Wearable Technology and Gait Recognition

The way a person walks is unique and can be used to identify the person. This new biometric system is known as gait recognition. Here, the gait of a person is analyzed based on videos. The gait features are then stored in a database. Once the database is ready, gait of any person can be compared with the database to get a match. Gait recognition has thus turned out to be an effective biometric measure with an error rate of just 0.7%.

Wearable devices like smart watches and fitness trackers are used to measure the number of steps a person walks. When wearable technology is combined with gait recognition, it helps to create a robust system with many applications. Apart from security, it has very powerful applications in health care.

In the world of healthcare, gait of a person can be used to determine their health. Here is a summary of how it works:

  • The gait of a person is affected by their health condition. A person who is not well may walk slowly. When a person has a physical injury, a neurological problem, or a musculoskeletal disorder their gait is affected. In the initial stages, the gait is mildly affected with the effect being severe as the condition progresses.
  • Analyzing gait can be helpful for healthcare institutions as they can then try and identify patients with health issues based on the gait.
  • Traditionally, gait recognition and analysis is done by analyzing videos. Using wearable devices with sensors makes it easier to do the analysis.
  • Apart from smart devices, smart fabrics are available. Sensors are embedded in clothes making it easy to detect gait and any abnormalities. Any abnormality detected would be flagged and an alert sent to the user or the treating doctor.

Conclusion

Gait recognition is a new and innovative way of identifying people. Other than its biometric use, it can also be used in healthcare. When coupled with wearable devices, it is a powerful application of technology. Using it in healthcare can be very beneficial especially for the elderly. The blog has been authored by Bahaa Abdul Hadi and has been published by the editorial board of Identity Herald. For more information, please visit www.identityherald.com.