Will health-related functionality be the killer app in the next generation of mobile devices? Samsung certainly hopes that will be the case as it patents a means of measuring body fat through smartphone sensors.
The patent, named "Method and Apparatus for Measuring Body Fat Using Mobile Device," describes a number of different sensors the company can integrate in devices. One is similar to the heart rate sensors already found in a number of Samsung smartphones (one simply holds a finger over the sensor to get a reading), while another involves gripping the device with both hands and moving one's arms up and down.
The result of such actions brings about the “acquiring the object’s impedance information on the basis of the intensify of the input current and the intensity of the measured voltage; and acquiring the object’s body fat information on the basis of the impedance information.”
Such a feature might be attractive to customers wanting to keep further track of fitness activities through the use of smartphones, as well as medical professionals wanting to follow patient progress. However one has to keep in mind the accuracy of such devices is often in question, not to mention there is no guarantee Samsung will make use of the technology to begin with.
