Huawei’s new Health Lab in Europe is Advancing Global Efforts in Health & Fitness Research

Huawei today launched a new HUAWEI Health Lab located in Helsinki, Finland. Equipped with state-of-the-art testing equipment, the laboratory serves as the research platforms for Huawei's health & fitness sector.

Sized at almost 1000 square metres, the laboratory is equipped with a diverse range of world class sports equipment covering over 20 types of sports, which will serve as open research platforms for technological research on sports and fitness algorithms in real life applications, detection and verification of input, standards R&D and industry incubation.

Advancing the Global Field of Sports Science and Health Research

Acknowledging the growing need in the health and fitness market, Huawei is committed to deeper research in health monitoring algorithms through its wearable technologies. This led to the establishment of three Health Labs across the globe since 2016: Xi'an and Songshan Lakes in China, and now one in Helsinki of Finland.

This year, Huawei in cooperation with Ipsos conducted a health survey of over 8,000 participants in 8 European countries, revealing that an overwhelming 92% of respondents want to improve at least one aspect of their health-related lifestyle, and only 50% of respondents are satisfied with their physical fitness levels.[1] Huawei keep investing in sports and health R&D to better meet growing consumer demand across the globe. The Finland Health lab is staffed with a multidisciplinary scientific research team comprising of 6 PhD’s and 20 Experts from 5 major fields – physiology, AI, machine learning, software testing, and software engineering – across 7 EU countries. This assures that every area of sports and health research reaches the world's advanced standards.

World-Class Sports Simulation Testing Facilities

The laboratory built true-to-life sports environments and scenarios in 5 major testing areas covering more than 20 sports and tracking over 200 physiological and biomechanical indicators. The main 5 areas include a counter-current pool, a ski simulator, a multi-functional treadmill, an instrumented treadmill, and an open gym area comprising of various cardiovascular workouts. Performance is measured by both the highly-advanced machinery, as well as using Huawei’s latest wearable devices, such as the HUAWEI WATCH GT 4.

Huawei built its very own counter-current pool based on professional standards, ensuring that swimmers can be accurately assessed on their swimming performance. The pool is equipped with dynamic water jets that can produce a controllable current flow rate up to 350 m³/hour and also allows the modification of water temperature and quality.

As skiing remains one of the most popular sports in Europe, the lab has introduced a ski simulator with adjustable speed, incline, and interactive routes and poles. It’s also built with sensors that detect the user’s speed, position, carving angles, forces, and performance data.

The multi-functional treadmill can test running, cycling, wheelchair racing and etc., with speeds adjustable up to 50km/h. The treadmill can even import GPX data from GPS devices to simulate real-world terrains and routes, giving participants true-to-life scenarios that will more accurately put their running/cycling skills to the test. The camera then detects their performance scientifically, providing immediate feedback to allow technique improvement in real-time.

Integration of HUAWEI WATCH GT 4: Huawei’s Advanced Health Monitoring Wearable

The laboratory will be conducting its day-to-day research tests using Huawei’s latest HUAWEI WATCH GT 4. With the smartwatch, Huawei’s leading health and fitness monitoring technologies will be utilised to accurately measure physiological data. For instance, the smartwatch’s TruSports^TMscientific training model is able to quantify users' running ability, record and analyse training data, provide personalised training suggestions and training plans, and help users maintain a scientific sports and healthy lifestyle.

The HUAWEI WATCH GT 4 will also be used to evaluate human cardiopulmonary capacity (maximum O₂ volume), which will allow researchers to evaluate sports performance more scientifically, and even score human sports ability more accurately to improve exercise safety.

Additionally, the watch’s newest Stay Fit app and Activity Rings can provide an assessment of overall movement and performance during workout sessions, giving a fuller understanding of energy expenditure and heart health. Powered by the latest HUAWEI TruSeen^TM 5.5+ technology, the watch provides high accuracy in determining caloric expenditure and intake requirements compared with mainstream algorithms used in the in market.

Joining Hands with European Health Institutions and Research Groups, including EU’s Cardiovascular Health Study

To truly improve consumers' lives through innovative sports and health technologies, Huawei has actively collaborated with local Finnish institutions and regional European experts.

iCARE4CVD is part of the IHI (Innovative Health Initiative) program which brings together medical and technology industry and the European Union, one of the most ambitious research initiatives in the area of artificial intelligence and cardiovascular disease. Huawei is currently the only wearable device manufacturer to participate in iCARE4CVD, and will co-lead the work package that will develop methods to improve patient motivation. In addition, Huawei will bring smart wearables that can screen features such as physical activity, sleep quality, cardiac and respiration function 24 hours a day. This project could give clinicians information that will change the management of chronic cardiovascular disease, utilising Huawei wearable devices to improve cardiovascular disease screening services.

Huawei has co-founded Interlive consortium with 6 top European universities with one of the most scientific and rigorous testing standards for wearable devices, the consortium strives towards developing best-practice recommendations for consumer wearables to measure direct and derived metrics. The partnership has further cemented Huawei’s wearable technology reliability and will ensure the continued scientific validity of Huawei wearables based on four standards: heart rate, step counts, caloric expenditure and VO₂ Max (maximum oxygen intake).

Currently, Huawei plans to pursue research cooperation with European universities and disability health centres to further its research into the needs of users with disabilities. This move marks Huawei’s step towards inclusivity and brings more active lifestyle to persons with disabilities. By understanding the sports and fitness management needs of wheelchair users and uncovering more solutions, users can look forward to a more dynamic sports health and performance monitoring technology in Huawei’s future smart wearables.