Fujitsu software uses a smartphone's camera to measure your pulse

There seems to be an unwritten rule that Japanese carriers and smartphone makers need to dedicate R&D spend to bettering the lives of their users. And we certainly can’t argue with that. NTT DoCoMo is at the forefront of said innovation, developing breath analyzers, powerful translation apps and even bicycle sharing solutions, but companies such as Fujitsu have items of their own to show off from time to time, including this camera-based pulse-measuring software.

The technology, which works by measuring brightness variations in your face, does not require special hardware. Using a camera attached to a computer, smartphone or tablet, the tool can detect your pulse in just five seconds. You need to remain still in order to achieve accurate results — the software begins measuring once you stop moving, and works by detecting the flow of hemoglobin in blood, which absorbs green light. Readers currently in Gifu, Japan for the General Conference of the Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers can test the solution for themselves beginning tomorrow. The rest of you can continue reading up on the development in the press release after the break. Cue DigInfo walkthrough.

Update:As readers have pointed out, other solutions have already made their way to market, such as the Cardiio app, which is available for iOS at 3 bucks a pop. We haven’t tested the app, but iTunes feedback is quite positive. You can snag it at the source link now.

Filed under: Cellphones, Household, Software