For DIY Health class this week, we were asked to sketch to possible ideas of fantasy tracking devices or systems. As usual, my concepts veer back and forth between the practical and unusual.

Concept 1: Internet Rest Stop / Ambient Attention Tracker

Cultural Critic, Donna Haraway postulates that our bodies have given into the machine. This certainly seems to be the modern condition for many of us, either at work or leisure, as we sit hunched over a computer monitor for uninterrupted periods of time. Often, we are so transfixed in our internet life we forget to breath correctly (what is called a diaphragmatic breath), blink regularly,  or stretch our poor backs and wrists. Compounding to this ergonomic stress is the added stress of multitasking or what Linda Stone calls,  Continuous Partial Attention and Email Apnea.

My first tracking device, tentatively called the Internet Rest Stop / Ambient Attention Tracker (a catchier title is needed), is a way to signal a person to take a quick rest break from the computer. By tracking a person’s posture and blink rate via the webcam found on most modern computers, the Internet Rest Stop prompts the user to adhere to a version of the 20/20/20 rule or every 20 minutes focus the eyes on an object 20 feet (6 meters) away for 20 seconds. Research demonstrates that such a break reduces the risk of dry eye and eye strain, back problems and carpal tunnel syndrome. Tracking blink rate can also give insight into the fatigue of someone while on the computer (and possibly attention of what they are reading/working on). Could blink rate track attention span as it ebbs and flows throughout the day? Could daily recording of facial gestures contribute to recording emotion analysis?

There’s an old saying that goes, “if you let a conversation go long enough, eventual talk will turn to sex, death or poo”.  All of them are worthy topics of fantasy tracking however,  my next fantasy tracker investigates the last topic. I was inspired by mention of high tech Japanese toilets. I to0 had the opportunity to, ahem, test the facilities of advanced Japanese toiletry and appreciated the often overlooked area of improving this most necessary area of our lives.

Concept 2: Sanctorius Scatologic Scan™
Sanctorius Scotologic Scan (SSS) is the worlds first, consumer facing, comprehensive excrement and urine analysis tracking device. What if we could non-invasively track our bodily waste to analyze our dietary and nutritional needs? So much info of what we eat and drink is literally being flushed down the toilet. The average person urinates 7 times a day. That frequency is a perfect opportunity for built in tracking of bodily conditions. You wouldn’t even have to remember to do it – a perfect trinity of motivation, ability and triggers (FBM) if ever there was one. The Scatologic Scan gives a current snapshot of dietary state and offers recommendations to modify your consumption throughout the day. It can also alarm a user if they exceed a prescribed limit of a set paramater they wish to track (e.g. caloric intake, alcohol consumption, electrolytes, etc).