Insight has a longstanding track record of scientific excellence in studies that leverage data from wearable devices to understand or enhance human behaviour and performance.   In more recent years the scope of this work has expanded to address issues such as validity of wearables, human factors issues associated with their use and deepening our understanding of the potential data value of wearables. This places Insight at the forefront of this emerging field as industry and society seek to consolidate the place of wearables in different aspects of life from wellness to sport to healthcare.

Insight researchers incorporate a blend of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.  Dr Alison Keogh (pictured above) has been appointed as the lead of the public and patient engagement workstream of the IMI Mobilise-D programme, a major European research programme (€49.9M, EU contribution €25.4M) that aims to understand how data from wearables can be used as an endpoint in regulated clinical trials.  Insight is also playing a leading role in the INTERLIVE consortium, which is setting out guidelines for validation of consumer grade wearables (www.interlive.org), and has recently published four landmark papers in this field. In 2022-3 two separate Insight led surveys  (carried out as part of the HOLISTICS and CERBERUS projects) have provided critical insights as to how the wider public perceive consumer grade wearable sensors and the data they provide.

Ken Brown (UCC), Brian Caulfield (UCD), Alison Keogh (UCD), Kieran Moran (DCU)