Pushing a buggy.

[Huffpuffbadger]

Hello!

im looking at getting the Ionic. I do an awful lot of walking whilst pushing a buggy and wondered if it picks up footsteps whilst pushing a buggy?? 

Hope this makes sense. Thanks very much!

[USAF-Larry]

@Huffpuffbadger, if you are holding the handle of the buggy the Ionic will not accurately count steps.  It counts steps by arm movement, and your arm will not be swinging enough to trigger the sensor.  As alternative, you might put it in a side pocket or on the ankle while walking with the buggy to get a better step count.

[Huffpuffbadger]

That’s what I thought. I couldn’t remember if the blaze estimated and whether the Ionic would do the same. 

[LwrHrtRt]

I like the ankle idea. That's what I do when I go biking to claim some of those steps I'd otherwise lose.

[racertempo]

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@USAF-Larry wrote:

@Huffpuffbadger, if you are holding the handle of the buggy the Ionic will not accurately count steps.  It counts steps by arm movement, and your arm will not be swinging enough to trigger the sensor.  

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No no no, not true.  I mow my grass and it counts steps even though my arm is not moving at all.  It does Not need to sense arm movement at all.  Here are examples to show that is false..... Do you get steps while holding an umbrella in the rain.... Yes..... Or how about when walking g for a long period while holding a cell phone to your year..... Yes.  You get these steps even though you arm is not swinging because the Fitbit senses you bouncing up and down and decides that you are not getting a ride on something and must be walking. 

For a buggy, stroller, or shopping cart.....

It all depends on the surface you are pushing on.... Of it is perfectly smooth in a store then you won't get steps, but no sensor at all will give you steps for that. 

If your surface is just a little bumpy it WILL ABSOLUTELY count steps.  I did lots of walking pushing my kids stroller, and on greenways I got steps because it was a bumpy asphalt surface.  When I pushed the same stroller in a mall I got no steps.

This is because the Fitbit does not want to give you credit if it thinks you are "getting a ride" on something like a moving walkway. Once it feels the irregular surface you are good. 

I had a Polar, Garmin, and Fitbit and when mowing my grass I got full credit on the Fitbit, while Polar only registered about half, and Garmin registered none. 

[SunsetRunner]

Bob stroller. 2mi, 128 steps. I must be around 200ft tall. 

It all depends on how much agitation makes it to the sensor to register a step. 

[N8teGee]

I would agree with @racertempo. I push my sons stroller regularly and get steps awarded for it. I haven't properly tested how accurate it is compared with no stroller, but it definitely isn't far off. You could also use GPS to track your walk with the stroller, this should provide a more accurate calorie burn if you are missing out on the steps.

[racertempo]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

Bob stroller. 2mi, 128 steps. I must be around 200ft tall. 

It all depends on how much agitation makes it to the sensor to register a step. 

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Yup, it is all about the "agitation" not necessarily the swing of the arm. 

[Julia_G]

@racertempo is absolutely correct.  Your arm does NOT need to be swinging for your Fitbit to count steps, otherwise it would not work when you put it in your pocket.

All Fitbits including wrist mounted ones operate with a 3-axis accelerometer.  Obviously I am not privy to all the details, but basically the tracker needs to detect forward motion (which is why it can sometimes be dodgy on a treadmill) in combination with vibrations carried from your feet, through your body, and along your arms.  This is why walking on very plush carpet might not award steps -- the carpet absorbs the vibrations and they are not strong enough to reach your wrist.

The problem with strollers/ push chairs, and shopping carts, is widely reported.  I think that it may be that the cart/ stroller absorbs some of the vibrations and the Fitbit doesn't detect them.  Or else as @racertempo suggests the surface is too smooth.

In cases like this Fitbit recommends putting even wrist trackers in your pocket (because they DON'T count arm swings...).  They do not recommend wearing it on your ankle as the algorithms are designed to calculate steps based on wearing it on your arm or on the body's core.

I recently did an experiment with two Fitbit accounts for a week.  On one account I had a Flex 2 on my ankle; on the other account I wore a wrist tracker.  The ankle tracker awarded me up to 50% extra steps in a day.  So I agree with Fitbit -- wearing it on your ankle isn't very accurate. 

[USAF-Larry]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

Bob stroller. 2mi, 128 steps. I must be around 200ft tall. 

It all depends on how much agitation makes it to the sensor to register a step. 

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@SunsetRunner, there is a world of difference between the vibrations/movement of a lawn, and holding a stroller or shopping cart while walking.   Yes, you will get some steps while pushing a stroller, just as you will get some steps while brushing your teeth or while you are stirring the pot of soup on the stove.  But, you will not get accurate step count while pushing a stroller unless you are intentionally bouncing up and down with each step.

[racertempo]

Mistake post

[racertempo]

Sorry Larry, but you are stretching  here.  You don't need to "intentionally bounce up and down".  I got accurate steps pushing a stroller on the sidewalk, mowing my lawn and holding an umbrella, and I do not intentionally bounce for these activities. 

We all get it, it depends on the level of agitation, a stroller in a shopping mall gets you no steps.... Got it. 

You don't have to swing your arm as you said in your first post, and you don't have to intentionally bounce up and down as you said in your second post. 

[bbarrera]

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@Julia_G wrote:

All Fitbits including wrist mounted ones operate with a 3-axis accelerometer.  Obviously I am not privy to all the details 

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the basics are pretty simple, and there are a lot of research papers on the Internet if you have a technical background.

Simply put, these devices monitor the 3 accelerometer signals and make a decision if there is a step. Every company has its own decision process ("algorithm"), and a company like Fitbit will tweak the process for each product. 

Wrist based trackers can be easily fooled just by moving or swinging your arm. Any change in movement (acceleration) has the potential to be interpreted as a step.

SmartTrack takes it a step further, where the device attempts to categorize the movement pattern and make a decision about the activity (walking vs running vs biking) in case exercise mode wasn't manually started.

Bottom line, step and activity estimation generally work well but not for everyone in all situations. Sometimes just switching from say a Charge 2 to Blaze or Ionic will give different step counts.