Apple may be exploring further health and fitness technology, possibly even artificial intelligence (AI) models to estimate body fat percentage or muscle growth.
According to Gizmodo, a recent patent indicates that the Cupertino giant is planning to one day be able to scan a user's face, neck, chest, arms, and legs.
Apple Is Taking Its AI Technology One Step Further
Apple already heavily relies on biometric data to let customers unlock their phones, which is why the news might not come with shock.
Numerous reports say that this most recent Apple patent was initially submitted back in July of last year.
The "Electronic Devices with Body Composition Analysis Circuitry" technology uses depth maps taken by external sensors, such as ordinary pictures and infrared images, to evaluate body composition.
Apple already uses infrared imaging to obtain these biometric readings for the face, but the concept behind this patent is to apply the same technology to the rest of the body.
Although there are a few reasons not to be overly enthusiastic about every new Apple patent, the most recent one is noteworthy since it makes use of a lot of already existing technologies.
It may be recalled that reports from last month said the business was also close to developing a noninvasive glucose test for diabetics through an Apple Watch.
Getting a sense of a user's complete body composition would be an excellent place to start for the company if it wants to delve even farther into the lucrative realm of health and fitness tech.
Read More: Apple Is Developing AR/VR Headset Technology That Helps People With Eye Diseases
The Patent, However, Remains Vague And Broad
According to the patent, "demographic information" about users may be obtained from a "dedicated body composition analysis questionnaire" or "as part of some other health-related application."
Apple already offers a Fitness+ subscription for video and audio exercises that combine stats from an Apple Watch, and there have been rumors of a fitness-focused Apple Watch.
Gizmodo writes that although the tech industry is accustomed to using biometrics, Apple's patent would give "body data" a completely new definition.
Despite having access to a user's entire body, Apple would still be able to train the model on "a specific body part," according to the patent.
This implies that it can tell if users have added muscle to their biceps or have developed excess fat around their midsection.
"Because body fat tends to be stored in certain fat pockets such as regions in the cheeks and neck, those regions may be more indicative of body composition than other regions," the patent reads.
Apple might be planning to create some sort of machine learning AI system to go along with this technology, even though the patent is still intentionally vague and broad.
According to the patent, a model can be trained to forecast the amount of fat in the face and neck, and the data collected during the time being will serve as training data for the training model.
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