They can already do almost everything: analyze our fingerprints, recognize our faces, count our steps. Soon, smartphones will be able to measure heart rate and respiratory rate.
The first equipped device, a Huawei, will be released next week. And the real novelty is that there will not even need accessories: no sensor, bra, or even a bracelet. Just look at his phone, like to take a selfie. The camera on the front will analyze the face, identify all micro-color variations on the skin, deduce the blood flow and therefore the heart rate. Same thing for the movements of the nostrils that will give him the breathing cycles.
A technique that has been proven in hospitals
In principle, the phone will be able to monitor the efforts when the user plays sports and even detect a heart problem, as do some connected watches. The technique has already been proven in hospitals. Simple cameras are already being used to track the vital signs of remote patients, including premature babies. This avoids covering them with electrodes when they are in an incubator.
Admittedly, the technique is not as precise as a conventional sensor. But this remains comparable, at 2 or 3 beats per minute, which is enough to detect anomalies and send alerts to doctors. And smartphone developers expect to go even further: today, they are working on artificial intelligence techniques capable of detecting diseases, such as genetic diseases, just by analyzing the face. Your phone may never make coffee. But one day he will play the doctors.