One of the major challenges of SPLENDID is the development of sensors capable to detect chewing events. The sensors are developed by the electronic sensor research center CSEM which is located in Switzerland, and consist of two microphone-based acoustic sensors and an optical sensor. A series of measurements has been carried out at CSEM in order to assess whether the signals acquired by the developed sensors are good enough to be used to extract useful information on mastication.
Then, the first experiment with 23 volunteers was performed at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands, from July 28th to August 15th.
During the session the participants wore all three sensors as well as reference sensors, while consuming several foods and performing simple tasks. Electromyography (EMG) has been selected as the reference methodology since it is currently the golden standard for chewing detection. The aim was to test food with different structure (i.e. liquid, semi-solid and solid) and to see if that could be distinguished from talking, and to get feedback on the wearing comfort of the devices as well. The collected signals are now being decoded and analyzed by AUTH. Their findings will help decide which one of the three sensor implementations we should continue developing. The selected sensor will then be optimized for size and comfort.