Poster Abstract: SeatBeats Heart Rate Monitoring System Using Structural Seat Vibrations

Monitoring cardiovascular risk factors requires a method for con-tinuous heart rate monitoring. However, this typically relies on a wearable device which must be issued to, then charged and worn by the user. Ambient sensors can address these challenges, but have only been usable in scenarios where the body is in proximity or contact with these sensors, such as on a bed. In this paper, we present SeatBeats, a system that can monitor heart rate using ambient vibrations in the surface a user sits on. The system relies on the surface’s response to heart beat-induced vibrations and utilizes autocorrelation to capture and extract the repeated pattern beats. Our experiments in a real office environment show up to 96% accuracy relative to a smartwatch heart rate sensor.