- Title: Beating the heat with a sweat-detecting smartwatch
- Date: 27th August 2024
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 60-YEAR-OLD KAJIMA CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION WORKSITE CHIEF MANAGER, HIROSHI YANAGISAWA, SAYING: "The way it works is that I use this mobile phone to instruct the workers to rest or drink liquid (when the device detects an abnormality)." ELECTRIC FAN BLOWING VARIOUS OF WORKERS RESTING AND DRINKING THERMOMETER SHOWING WET-BULB TEMPERATURE OF 30.3C AND AIR TEMPERATURE OF 32.7C SIGN READING (English/Japanese) "DANGER 31C OR MORE" WORKERS RESTING SUZUKI WIPING HIS FACE AND WALKING AWAY UEDA, NAGANO PREFECTURE, JAPAN (RECENT - JULY 30, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RESEARCHER AT TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SKINOS PEDALLING EXERCISE BIKE SCREEN OF WEARABLE SWEAT MONITORING DEVICE SHOWING AMOUNT OF SWEAT, HEART RATE AND SKIN TEMPERATURE VARIOUS OF SKINOS CEO, HIDEYA MOMOSE, LOOKING AT COMPUTER MOMOSE POINTING AT LINE SHOWING AMOUNT OF SWEAT DETECTED ON GRAPH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) CEO OF TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SKINOS, HIDEYA MOMOSE, SAYING: "As sweat emerges from the skin the surrounding air becomes more humid, and it's that humidity that the sensor measures." MOMOSE ROTATING SWEAT MONITORING DEVICE IN HIS HANDS / INDICATING SWEAT SENSOR AND HEART RATE SENSOR ON THE BACK OF THE DEVICE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) CEO OF TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SKINOS, HIDEYA MOMOSE, SAYING: "On the back are the perspiration sensor and the heart rate sensor, and then inside are a skin temperature sensor and an accelerometer." MOMOSE HOLDING SWEAT MONITORING DEVICE IN HIS HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) CEO OF TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SKINOS, HIDEYA MOMOSE, SAYING: "There are a lot people losing four or five litres (of moisture) through sweating, but surprisingly many are only drinking around one litre of water so their risk of dehydration is very high. We believe that the risk of heat stroke can be lowered by using this device to make sure people stay hydrated while working." DOOR TO SKINOS OFFICE MOMOSE'S HAND MOVING MOUSE
- Embargoed: 10th September 2024 10:45
- Keywords: Japan SkinOS construction dehydration health heat heatstroke labour safety summer sweat technology temperature wearable work
- Location: AYASE, KANAGAWA PREFECTURE AND UEDA, NAGANO PREFECTURE, JAPAN
- City: AYASE, KANAGAWA PREFECTURE AND UEDA, NAGANO PREFECTURE, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA003818421082024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Construction makes for sweaty work, especially at the height of Japan's hot and humid summers. This year, the country has again seen record-breaking temperatures that put the health of people working outdoors at risk.
In recent years Japanese workers in manual jobs have turned to technology to help them get through the day, with portable fans and air conditioned work-wear now commonplace.
"You really worry about when you're going to get heatstroke while you're working outdoors," said construction site overseer Shinpei Suzuki.
But what if sweat itself could warn them of dehydration or an impending heatstroke? That's the idea behind a wearable device that measures the potentially surprising amount of perspiration the user loses.
The smartwatch-shaped device, named the SKWL-1000 by its maker, Nagano-based technology firm Skinos, combines a hygrometer to measure humidity with a heart rate monitor, an accelerometer and a skin temperature sensor.
"As sweat emerges from the skin the surrounding air becomes more humid, and it's that humidity that the sensor measures," Skinos's CEO, Hideya Momose said.
Data from the device is sent via Bluetooth so it can be monitored remotely, with a colour-coded system highlighting users' current level of dehydration.
If high or abnormal levels of dehydration are detected, automated alerts tell the wearer and anyone monitoring them to take a break and re-hydrate.
"I use this mobile phone to instruct the workers to rest or drink liquid," said Hiroshi Yanagisawa, manager of the construction site operated by building firm Kajima Construction.
As temperatures rise, the heat is a growing threat for those working outdoors. The number of farm workers hospitalised with heatstroke more than quadrupled to 204 during the first week of July, while 29 farmers died from heatstroke across Japan in the last year, according to figures from the country's agriculture ministry.
The sweat monitor's maker, Skinos, was founded by researchers at Shinshu University in central Japan's Nagano prefecture, where the technology behind the sweat-detecting wearable was developed.
Since releasing the wearable to customers earlier this summer, Momose has kept track of the data gathered at Kajima's Kanagawa building site. The numbers revealed show how acute the risk of heatstroke is for Japan's workforce, he said.
"There are a lot people losing four or five litres through sweating, but surprisingly many are only drinking around one litre of water so their risk of dehydration is very high," Momose said. "We believe that the risk of heat stroke can be lowered by using this device to make sure people stay hydrated while working."
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