Self Surveillance

Here is 'fitbit' - a wearable unobtrusive sensor that can track a person’s activity 24 hours a day and send the data to a website for analysis. Data is wirelessly uploaded to the Web so that users can monitor their activity and compare it with that of their friends. Convenient.... or worrying?

Credit: Fitbit

James Park, cofounder of Fitbit, says that one of the main goals was to make the sensor so small that it will go unnoticed no matter what a person is wearing. The device can be put in a pocket, attached discretely to a bra, or slipped into a special wristband during sleep. It is meant to be worn 24-7, and each device can run for 10 days on a single battery charge...

At the conference, the gadget impressed a panel of judges that included Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media. He says that Fitbit is tapping into an important field of wearable sensors and personal health monitoring: "It's completely on trend in terms of this idea of sensors driving the next generation of interesting applications."

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