Sensors for Human Activity Recognition

Human activity recognition (HAR) and human behavior recognition (HBR) play increasingly important roles in the digital age. High-quality sensory observations applicable to recognizing users’ activities and behaviors, including electrical, magnetic, mechanical (kinetic), optical, acoustic, thermal, and chemical biosignals, are inseparable from sensors’ sophisticated design and appropriate application.

Traditional sensors suitable for HAR and HBR, including external sensors for smart homes, optical sensors such as cameras for capturing video signals, and bioelectrical, biomagnetic, and biomechanical sensors for wearable applications, have been studied and verified adequately. They continue to be researched in depth for more effective and efficient usage, and brand-new areas facilitated by sensor-based HAR/HBR are emerging, such as interactive edutainment, single-motion duration analysis, time series information retrieval, handcrafted and high-level feature design, and fall detection. Meanwhile, innovative sensor research for HAR or HBR is also very active in the academic community, including new sensors appropriate for HAR/HBR, new designs and applications of the above-mentioned traditional sensors, and the usage of non-traditional HAR-/HBR-related sensor types, among others.