Portable and wearable sensors are increasingly being used to monitor and track environmental exposures. These sensors are small devices which can easily be carried by a person. They allow for researchers to get a better idea of exposures on the individual level while accounting for the mobile behaviour of people in their everyday life.
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) involves the use of repeated sampling methods to collect data on individual's behaviours and experiences in real time, within their natural environments. EMA aims to minimize recall bias, maximize ecological validity, and allows for the study of microprocesses which influence decision making as they occur. EMA can be done through surveys, written diaries, and smartphone-based technologies.
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and location tracking is used for the studying of momentary environmental exposures. It is especially useful within cities and can be used in conjunction with Geofencing to study people's proximity to aspects of the built environment like streets and greenspaces. Advancement of GPS technology has made it possible to provide precise location information in real time, lending its use to mass transit, tourism, and many other areas.
Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience which combines the real world and computer-generated content. AR alters the ongoing perception one has of their real-world environment. It is used to naturally enhance the environment or situations and offer perceptually enriched experiences. Information about the real world can also be digitally manipulated and resulting data can be collected to assess the effectivenss of interventions, changes in perception, etc.
Virtual Reality (VR) technology is used in the lab to simulate real-life environments. It uses simulated experiences which employ pose-tracking and 3D eye-displays to give the user a feeling of being in the real world. An individual using the VR technology can look around the artificial world, move around it, and interact with specific features.
