Case Study: Sympathia Sense
摘要
Recent advancements in wearable technology have increasingly focused on developing long-term, unobtrusive methods for monitoring physiological data. This has driven research into new form factors, materials, and anatomical locations to enhance usability and performance. One notable innovation is Sympathia Sense, a smart sock designed for electrodermal activity (EDA) and body movement monitoring. Building upon the ScientISST ecosystem—an open-source framework for hardware, firmware, and software—Sympathia Sense aims to advance research and improve methods in various fields, including affective computing and neuropsychiatry. This chapter details the evolution of Sympathia Sense from a general-purpose prototype to a highly specialized device optimized for its intended use. Key aspects of development covered include computer-aided design (CAD), e-textile integration, and signal processing customization. The chapter also revisits the adaptive EDA sensing, highlighting its capability to acquire EDA signals across a wide conductance range ( \(0.1 \text{ to } 100\,\upmu \text{S}\) ) with minimal discontinuity due to a newly implemented signal reconstruction algorithm. Moreover, the proof-of-concept experiments demonstrate Sympathia Sense’s effectiveness in capturing EDA and accelerometer (ACC) signals during emotional and physiological stimuli, validating its practical applications in affective computing and health monitoring. Overall, Sympathia Sense exemplifies the integration of adaptable hardware and software tools, pushing forward the development of real-world wearable products.