Compare · vs wearables
Emobot vs wearables and actigraphy.
Wearables capture activity and sleep, which correlate with mood. They are a useful input. But activity alone is an indirect proxy for depression, and a wearable only measures what it can sense from the wrist.
What Wearables is
Wearable approaches use a watch or band to track movement, heart rate, and sleep, inferring mood-related patterns from physical activity (actigraphy). They run passively once worn.
Where Wearables is genuinely good
- Activity and sleep are genuine, passively collected signals tied to mood.
- Once worn, a wearable requires little ongoing effort.
- Good at what it measures: movement and rest.
Where it falls short
- Activity is an indirect proxy and misses affect and speech entirely.
- Requires the patient to own, wear, and charge the device consistently.
- A single physical dimension is less specific than several signals combined.
Side by side
| Feature | Emobot | Wearables |
|---|---|---|
| Signals used | Face + voice + activity + behavior | Activity / sleep only |
| Hardware required | Patient's own iPhone | A worn device |
| Captures affect & speech | Yes | No |
| Adherence dependency | Install once | Wear & charge daily |
| Validation | r=0.89 vs MADRS | Varies |
Where Emobot is different
Includes the activity signal, and more
Emobot uses actigraphy as one of four signals, then adds facial expression, voice, and digital behavior for a more direct read on mood.
No extra hardware
It runs on the patient's existing iPhone, so there is nothing to buy, wear, or remember to charge.
Direct affective signals
Facial and vocal biomarkers measure affect itself, not just its physical downstream effects.
Frequently asked questions
Can a wearable monitor depression?
Wearables capture activity and sleep, which correlate with mood, so they provide a useful but indirect signal. They miss facial and vocal affect, and depend on the patient consistently wearing and charging the device.
How is Emobot different from a wearable?
Emobot runs on the patient's iPhone and fuses activity with facial expression, voice, and digital behavior, giving a more direct, multimodal read on mood with no extra hardware.
Do patients need to buy a device for Emobot?
No. Emobot uses the patient's existing iPhone, so there is no wearable to purchase, wear, or charge.
Related reading: Passive Depression Monitoring: Clinical Guide
See the difference on a real patient case.
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