Wearable Programming for the Active Lifestyle

Chapter 1. Big Data and µData

Years ago, you could use a conventional database system to store, process, and display pretty much any kind of data you might come across. These days, thanks to ever-present sensors and the ability to obtain large amounts of information in real time, our data has gotten too big, and it changes shape almost as fast as it accumulates.

Whether it’s data from high-speed stock market trades or information streaming in from a heart rate monitor, it’s big and hard to control. Big data has emerged as the catch-all term for both the data itself and also for the tools and practices we use to get it under control.

These tools and practices give us a better understanding of the data through more efficient and more enlightening analysis. Applied to financial data, it might make some of us richer. But applied to health and fitness, we can use big data techniques to help live longer, healthier lives.

The quantified self movement uses technology to capture data about as many aspects of human life as can be measured. Even a single individual can generate an incredible amount of data, depending on what you’re monitoring. Every dimension you add—heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen level—gets projected over time, so if you’re monitoring 24/7 and sampling every second, the amount of data gets huge.

Armed with the right devices and software, you can measure yourself, gain insights that would not be otherwise possible, and make your life better.

The Garmin “Full Circle ...