An early characterisation of wearing variability on motion signals for wearables

Abstract

We explore a new variability observed in motion signals acquired from modern wearables. Wearing variability refers to the variations of the device orientation and placement across wearing events. We collect the accelerometer data on a smartwatch and an earbud and analyse how motion signals change due to the wearing variability. Our analysis shows that the wearing variability can bring an unexpected change to motion signals, not only from different users but also from different wearing sessions of the same user. We also provide empirical ranges of changes in device orientations.