Heart rate measurement, all it takes is a selfie

Biometric data reading for everyone: a feat finally accomplished thanks to smartwatches and connected bracelets, but why not go further and make these measurements even more accessible and easy to use? Google wants to read your face. This is the idea behind the latest research conducted by Google labs, which are testing a system that uses the selfie camera of the smartphone everyone carries in their pocket to detect your heart rate in real time in just a few seconds, simply by observing your face. AI in full skin. Called Passive Heart Rate Monitoring (PHRM), this system captures short video sequences of the face during normal phone use, especially after unlocking. From these videos, an AI model detects minute variations in skin color caused by blood circulation, a technique called "remote photoplethysmography." Tested in real-world conditions on different skin tones, the process is already yielding promising results, although it still struggles in some cases: poor lighting, excessive movement, very dark skin. Research is ongoing, however, but it wouldn't be surprising if PHRM were to arrive in our smartphones soon.