Estimating personal energy expenditure with location data

Human inactivity has been associated with the incidence of a number of health conditions and chronic diseases, while our increasing energy consumption is a well-documented problem. A Personal Energy Meter might help identify areas for improvement in our lifestyles that would benefit both our personal health and the global environment. As one strand of this, we explore the possibility of estimating our own energy expenditure from movement traces provided by location systems. This technique offers a number of advantages over accepted accelerometer-based devices. We validate a model which we then apply to analyse the physical activity and working patterns of a total of 60 individuals spread across two separate offices.