How Does Fitness Tracker Work?

Fitness trackers have been extremely popular with customers in the past five years. The opportunity to help people shed weight and boost their physical health by tracking the amount of steps taken and calories consumed in a day is advertised by most exercise trackers. Fresh activity tracker or smartwatch versions with upgraded functionality appear to be constantly launched as costs begin to decline.

Some also calculate the heart rate of the individual in real-time and claim to control both the amount and duration of sleep. Yet many consumers and prospective purchasers are left asking, “How does a fitness tracker work?” and “How precise are they?”

How is the technology operating behind health trackers?

Simply put, fitness trackers work to translate this information by using a range of methods to capture details about your movements and your body in conjunction with algorithms. The specific technologies used to capture this information and the algorithms used to analyze it varies according to the manufacturer and also the model, so you will get different numbers from two different trackers.

Fitness trackers operate by tracking motion, while manufacturers and models may differ. Some use a 3-axis accelerometer that tracks acceleration in any direction, while others have a rotation and orientation measurement gyroscope. To measure altitude, many have an altimeter; this allows the system to measure how many stairs you have climbed in a day or the height of a mountain you have climbed.

To monitor the heart rate, some versions have temperature controls and sensors. Some provide electrodes to measure your sleep patterns by measuring the motions of your wrist.

These several sensors then calculate variables such as the frequency of your movements, acceleration, intensity, length, and patterns. Using an algorithm unique to the activity tracker model, this enormous volume of knowledge is then translated to collect meaningful observations and statistics of your activities and wellbeing over time.

How Accurate Are Fitness Trackers?

Since the sensors and algorithms vary by manufacturer and even model, two different fitness trackers can often show different results. Although fitness trackers can give you a clear rundown of your activities, this means that the data obtained and how it is viewed will not be fully reliable all the time.

How Do Fitness Trackers Work with Smartphones?

Most fitness trackers on the market, through a smartphone or other computer, relay information to users. It relies, at least to some degree, on your choice of phone and the applications that are compatible with a specific smartphone to choose a fitness tracker that is right for you. With iPhones and Android phones, most fitness trackers synchronize quickly and quickly.

However, you can have problems if you use a Windows handset. Most fitness trackers have their software, and this is the location where you view the tracker’s captured and processed data. However, some trackers go a step further and are compliant with other software on the market, apps you may already have and enjoy.

How Are Exercise Trackers Reliable When Counting Steps?

They “know” when to ignore a minor wrist gesture, such as when a video game is being typed or played, and do not count it as a move. Larger gestures only count. However, because of the volume of activity, certain movements, such as a very bumpy car trip, can count as moves, while walking gently over very dense carpets may not register at all.

You may be curious about how exactly they are when tracking measures, recognizing that calculations and statistics will differ from tracker to tracker. When counting steps were taken during the day, most trackers are usually accurate. Over the last couple of years, the technology has advanced and newer trackers are usually very accurate.