Innovation in human thermal sensation assessment using wearable skin heat flow sensors

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K18764
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 23:Architecture, building engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Asawa Takashi 東京工業大学, 環境・社会理工学院, 准教授 (50361796)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-07-09 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 温冷感 / ウェアラブルセンサ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we investigated methods for predicting thermal sensation in the human body, focusing on walking conditions that involve step changes in the amount of movement, differences in room temperature conditions, and local cooling of the soles of the feet, and demonstrated the possibility of prediction using the temperature difference between the wrist and fingertips, which can be easily measured with a wearable sensor, and the heat flow in the soles of the feet, in addition to the skin heat flow in the chest. We also investigated the influence of differences in the heat production capacity of the human body on these factors. These results will contribute to predicting thermal sensations such as hot, cold, and coolness that people experience unsteadily in their daily lives, which involve spatial movement between indoors and outdoors.

Free Research Field

建築・都市環境工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、我々が屋内や屋外の空間移動を伴う日常生活において感じる暑さや寒さ、涼しさといった温冷感や熱ストレスを簡便に予測することを目的としたものである。そのために、主に腹部に装着するウェアラブルセンサによって取得される熱流（身体の内部から皮膚に向けた熱の流れ）に着目し様々な実験を通してその有効性を検証したものである。将来的には、高齢者などの熱ストレスに脆弱な人々が感じる暑さや身体的な負担を検知することに役立てられると期待している。