Hand-Arm Vibration Estimation Using A Commercial Smartwatch

Measuring Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) exposure is important to prevent permanent injuries, such as the White Finger / Raynaud Syndrome. Current measuring solutions require an individual attachment of those work tools that emit considerable vibrations. These sensing instruments are expensive and usually require a setup by experts. Additionally, these attached sensors are bulky and wired, which may further increase the risk of accidents in occupational safety. For an easy use, we propose using a Smartwatch to estimate the HAV doses gathered throughout the day. By utilizing the Smartwatch's Inertial Measuring Unit (IMU) that is sampling up to 800Hz, we are capable of reconstructing vibrations up to 400Hz. This range sufficiently covers the majority of harmful HAV loads that occurs with work tools. Our approach is an inexpensive solution that provides a rough estimation to indicate a vibration overload. Our solution does not require the specific tool type or datasheet.