SmartCoping: A Mobile Solution for Recognizing Stress and Coping with It

Abstract

The paper describes the design rationales and algorithms underlying SmartCoping, a mobile solution for recognizing stress based on the continuous monitoring of heart rate variability (HRV). A central contribution is the calibration of HRV values to each user of the SmartCoping app. Calibration is crucial since HRV varies greatly among people and must be interpreted individually. Calibration is implemented in two variants, one which requires user feedbacks on perceived stress levels during an initial learning phase and one where no feedback is needed, and a user's maximal and minimal HRV values are determined during an initial usage phase. The variant with user feedbacks results in stress warnings which better reflect a user's stress perception. The app can be used to trigger stress warnings, identify recurrent stress situations from the history data, and give relaxation support via a biofeedback component based on breathing exercises. SmartCoping helps people improve their self-perception and develop appropriate stress avoidance and coping strategies. The system has been evaluated in a field test with healthy volunteers.