A domestic research team has established a core international standard for testing the accuracy of step counts and heart rate, essential functions for health management in wearable devices, thereby creating a common international standard for evaluating measurement accuracy in wearable devices.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on the 7th that two international standards regarding ‘performance testing of wearable devices for health management’ were finally established last month.

The establishment of quality standards and improved measurement accuracy through this newly established international standard is expected to contribute significantly to the promotion of national health and the revitalization of related equipment and service industries.

The newly established international standards are the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 'Step count measurement accuracy test method' and 'Heart rate measurement accuracy test method'.

This document contains methods and procedures for testing the measurement accuracy of wearable devices that provide step counting and heart rate measurement functions.

The research team produces more than 500 million smart bands, watches, and rings for health management purposes annually.The reason for establishing this international standard was that although wearable devices are being sold, there is no standardized test method for the accuracy of measuring basic exercise volumes such as the number of steps and heart rate, making objective comparative evaluation of performance and accuracy impossible.

ETRI announced that it has begun developing standards for testing the accuracy of step counting and heart rate measurement together with major domestic companies, and that it has achieved results in establishing the international standard six years after starting research in 2019.

With the establishment of international standards for this technology, ETRI will be able to set and demand performance standards for wearable devices for healthcare, and manufacturers will be able to officially present performance verification results tested according to international standard testing methods.

This is expected to revitalize the related testing, evaluation, and certification market along with the expansion of the global wearable industry.

ETRI has proposed the formation of a new working group (ahG7) to discover and standardize new international standardization issues, such as sleep monitoring and sleep disease diagnosis applications, wearable applications combining artificial intelligence technology, and wearable EEG applications. ETRI Senior Researcher Jeon Jong-hong is currently serving as the chairperson.

ETRI Standards Research Division Director Lee Seung-yoon said, “It is very significant that Korea has established two core standards for performance testing of core healthcare functions applicable to all wearable devices.”

Professor Jae-Young Park of Kwangwoon University also said, “The largest application area for wearable devices is healthcare, so we will further strengthen international standard development and cooperation to lead the international standards for healthcare wearables centered on Wearable Electrical Devices and Technologies (TC 124).”

Based on these achievements, ETRI is working with domestic industry, academia, research and medical experts to establish international standards in new healthcare fields, such as wearable device sleep monitoring and diagnostic applications.He explained that he plans to continue cooperating with the families.

ETRI stated that this standard was established as a result of the National Standards Technology Enhancement Project of the National Institute of Technology and Standards and the standard development support of the Inter-Ministry Full-cycle Medical Device Development Project.

In addition, it was revealed that the results of this standard development were achieved through collaboration between ETRI Senior Researcher Jeon Jong-hong and KAIST Professor Lee Jeong-cheol.