Smart wearables can tell you much more than you can guess

Wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers are meant to tell you how much calories you burnt, notifications from your apps, along with showing you the time. But did you know, the wearables can also tell if you were washing your hands or typing? Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University discovered that existing accelerometer in an LG smartwatch can also measure what your hands are doing while you are wearing it, Fast Company reported.

Using machine learning, the researchers were able to devise an algorithm that can correctly tell the differences between common hand movements such as washing hands, scrolling on your phone, using a remote, typing, and so on. The discovery opens up new high-fidelity activity recognition. For instance, by identifying extensive typing, it can recommend taking a break.