One of WWDC’s most timely announcements was the Apple Watch handwash detection. The coronavirus crisis means that everyone is encouraged to wash their hands more frequently and to make sure we do it thoroughly.
But the handwash detection feature wasn’t hastily developed in response, Apple says, rather it was years of development …
WHO and CDC guidelines recommend washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, and watchOS 7 aims to automatically detect when you’re washing your hands and start a 20-second countdown timer with cute animation. If you find that you have stopped washing your hands before the time is up, politely ask you to continue.
Proper hand washing for at least 20 seconds can help prevent the spread of the disease. In a one-of-a-kind innovation for a portable device, Apple Watch uses motion sensors, the microphone, and machine learning on the device to automatically detect movements and sounds of handwashing. It then starts a 20 second countdown timer, and if the user finishes earlier, they will be asked to continue washing. Apple Watch can also conveniently remind the user to wash their hands when they return home.
The Health app on iPhone will display the frequency and duration of user handwashing, as well as information on the importance of handwashing, relative to overall health. The Health or Apple Watch app does not automatically record or save the sounds used to detect handwashing.
Once automatically detected, the handwash will start a 20 second timer.
A TechCrunch The report says it took literally years of work.
Handwashing for the Apple Watch happily placed alongside the face masks for Memojis on the list of COVID-19-related features that the company featured in last week’s WWDC keynote. […]
However, unlike other urgent initiatives taken by the company once the virus struck, the next Apple Watch handwashing app was not created overnight. The feature was the result of “years of work,” Vice President of Technology Kevin Lynch told TechCrunch. According to the executive, in typical Apple style, the product was the result of years of trial and error.
Apple Watch’s handwashing feature is based on three signals.
The accelerometer is the key piece of hardware here, waiting for the specific hand-washing pattern, which apparently adopts a number of different methods, depending on who is actually doing the washing.
Along with movement, the app hears the sound of running water. However, even that is not enough: after all, green sinks have become increasingly popular, meaning there is often less water sound to listen to.
The sound of crushing soap takes care of that last bit. It has an audio signature unique enough to confirm that you are washing your hands.
Still, early use doesn’t seem to reflect years of work: 9to5Mac Tests have found that detection is quite unreliable. An alternative is to have your watch tell you to wash your hands every hour.
Could Apple Watch go further and help diagnose COVID-19? Apple says it is not doing any research of its own in this area, but is supporting those who are.
On the face of the clock specifically, it has opened remote use for clinicians looking to monitor patients’ ECG readings without risking exposure to the virus for either party. However, Apple currently does not assert the watch’s potential to help diagnose the virus. While we have not specifically studied how Apple Watch can track COVID, we are happy to support the research that is being done by the medical community. We really support their initiatives by enabling our colleagues in space, and we are excited to see what they learn, ‘Apple Vice President of Health Sumbul Ahmad Desai told TechCrunch.
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