AbstractsEngineering

Overweight prevalence has increased dramatically over the course of the last three or four decades. An increased caloric intake, partly induced by the food industry, is the main cause of this epidemic. Though activity trackers are widely available, no solutions are yet available for automatic food intake tracking. Current solutions for improving and reducing food-intake rely on manual tracking. This has been proven inaccurate, both for reporting on eating frequency and on dietary intake. A study on human behavior resulted in the insight that, to make long-term changes, the focus should lie on on changing habits. Simplification is key to changing behavior. The slower the changes are introduced, they higher the chances of successful long-term changes. Slow changes are easy to introduce and build confidence in one’s ability to change; a crucial element in achieving behavior change. In order to change habits, it is essential to first analyze current habits. A design was created that facilitates behavior change by helping people analyze and improve their food intake patterns. The design, the BitsLab, consists of an add-on for smartphones and an accompanying app. The add-on is a chewing sensor, located on the zygomatic process. The sensor measures chewing trough bone conducted audio. Audio data is sent from the add-on to a smartphone app using Bluetooth LE, where it is analyzed by an algorithm. This measured data will provide users with an unbiased overview of their intake pattern. A proof of concept of the technology is presented, along with an ergonomic study on shape design.