During the first week, I focused on trying to understand the goal of the research and how it could impact those in underserved communities. After listening to our mentor, Yongyi I learned that we were trying to develop a program that utilizes a webcam to detect vital stats such as heart rate, breathing rate, etc using photoplethysmography. We were given three articles to read to help us understand the technology and the pros and cons.

I read the articles that we were given and learned that the technology does not always work on people with darker skin tones or in low light conditions. One of the ways to combat this could be to use another source of light such as a flash or a light stand. Another way to combat this issue is to use another color channel COG – that is Cyan, Orange, and Green. Or, to use a green filter.

Side note: when we walked to the police department to receive our ID badges, I experienced the “shadow” phenomenon. When lighting isn’t conducive to darker skinned people, their features are not present in the picture. My ID picture looks like a dark blur….with teeth.

I struggled to understand the full goal of project, so I reached out and asked more questions. And this is what I came up with:

A. Construct the rPPG program – in the most basic form

B. Test out the camera on darker skin tones and in low light conditions using the following

1. 1. ambient light
   2. Green Filter
   3. Flash
   4. COG

C. Connect the technology to it’s application in underserved communities.

D. Develop a poster to explain all of the above.

After doing some more research, I learned that there is a general distrust among African Americans and healthcare providers. African Americans are also more likely to experience heart related issues. This technology has the potential to improve health outcomes for those that live in under served communities. More specifically, African American males. This is my focus for the application of the technology.

Looking forward to week 2!