Pushing a stroller?

[LZeeW]

The video shows a woman running and pushing a stroller.  Does this mean that Fitbit has solved the problem of step count error when pushing a stroller/cart/wheelchair/other device/holding on to rails when your treadmill is at an incline?

[shipo]

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@LZeeW wrote:

The video shows a woman running and pushing a stroller.  Does this mean that Fitbit has solved the problem of step count error when pushing a stroller/cart/wheelchair/other device/holding on to rails when your treadmill is at an incline?

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I'm going to SWAG this will be unlikely.  Why?  Because with no repetitive arm movement, it is difficult if not impossible to track steps.  I have the same issue when I push wheelbarrows full of horse poop around the barn.

[wmchapman]

No, not really a problem to be solved @LZeeW, the reason steps are substantially lower when your tracker wrist is in a stationary position is because of the sensor damping that occurs to prevent steps from being recorded when driving - a trade off of the wrist pedometer design.

You can suggest folks move your tracker to a pocket or belt loop while strolling or pushing a cart to overcome the damping.

Check the suggestions in the "features & suggestions" area to see if any have been made to have a function that temporarily "switches off" the damping feature and vote it up; or create one if you come up empty.  The technology will most likely be similar in the Ionic, we'll see pretty soon in real world trials, just a few weeks to go, I'll check back in after pushing a grocery cart for you  🙂

Good to see you again, thank you for all your contributions!

[swampmilkweed]

I usually put my Alta in my pocket while grocery shopping, etc. The Ionic does look nice, but it occurs to me that it would be far harder to stuff such a big watch in a pocket! Maybe I'd better stick with the Alta until they solve this.

[shipo]

I do not believe this is an issue which can be solved; short of some sort of magic, if the arm isn't rocking in some sort of a rhythmic motion, then there is nothing to track.

[Bunnybear_05]

I asked cause of that video too. The mod said no. That the step count will still be less then accurate but the accelerometer will detect steps. Just not all

[shipo]

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@Bunnybear_05 wrote:

I asked cause of that video too. The mod said no. That the step count will still be less then accurate but the accelerometer will detect steps. Just not all

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The accelerometer will only detect steps of the stroller/wheelbarrow/shopping car pusher if said pusher is not smooth.  

[harrypotter2]

When I go to the supermarket i push the trolley and yes it counts my steps

[shipo]

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@harrypotter2 wrote:

When I go to the supermarket i push the trolley and yes it counts my steps

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It will only count some of them when your tracker hand is on the cart; the steps it counts will be from jerky start/stop/turn motions typical of pushing a cart in a crowded store.  If you are in an empty store and push the cart nice and smoothly, you might walk a few hundred steps and only get four or five recorded.

[harrypotter2]

But how I start with 11,173 and finish with 12,067!

How is that possible?

[shipo]

It's very possible if you push the cart at an uneven speed (very likely in a crowded store) or if you maneuver a lot.  If you say, grab a cart from out in the parking lot and walk at a nice smooth speed into the store, it is unlikely you'll get more than a handful of steps.

[Bunnybear_05]

Fitbit says it will detect some. But not all steps. I know I get more then 1000 steps grocery shopping. You likely get more. 

[racertempo]

I bet it counts steps if running with a stroller, like the strollers with big wheels.  This would sense your movement from the run. 

[robvokoun]

The Apple Watch 2 does not have this issue.  To test this out I wore my Zip, Apple Watch and Blaze, went to the grocery store and did some regular shopping.  Zip and Apple Watch were pretty close for the step count, Blaze was much lower.  Same with pushing my 14 month old in his stroller, without GPS enabled on either watch (indoor quickstart for Apple Watch).

[swampmilkweed]

I once walked all around the inside perimeter of a Super Walmart in just 21 steps on my Alta!  Ha, ha.  If the Apple watch does not have this problem, how does Apple do it?

[shipo]

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@robvokoun wrote:

The Apple Watch 2 does not have this issue.  To test this out I wore my Zip, Apple Watch and Blaze, went to the grocery store and did some regular shopping.  Zip and Apple Watch were pretty close for the step count, Blaze was much lower.  Same with pushing my 14 month old in his stroller, without GPS enabled on either watch (indoor quickstart for Apple Watch).

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Who says the Apple Watch 2 doesn't have this issue?  I ask because several of my co-workers have the AW2 and they claim to lose steps in the grocery store.

[Bunnybear_05]

When I had a Apple Watch...it never got my step count right. Like it was off by like 4000 steps daily. I ran it thru various tests. Apple's solution was to do several 30 mins walks outside connected to god to see if it fixed the issue. Well....with a brand new baby in the dead of Chicago winters...that wasn't happening. Even the couple walks outside that I did manage to get in, didn't fix my issue. 

So so I don't have much faith in the Apple Watch with step tracking. 

[USAF-Larry]

The simple fact is that a wrist-worn fitness tracker cannot track activity if the wrist isn't moving. Doesn't matter who makes the tracker, or what they claim it can do, if the tracker isn't actively moving, it isn't detecting movement.

[robvokoun]

Would agree with you except that it matches with my Zip and what you would
logically expect. Though I did do the calibration shortly after I first
got it. I loved both my Surge and Blaze but at this point the Blaze has
become nearly useless.

[robvokoun]

Wish I could explain it, I did do the initial GPS calibration and do a
specific hike that I know the exact distance. Sure the steps are going to
be off by a bit but the distance with GPS turned off and turned on are
nearly spot on. Not an advertisement for the Apple Watch, I just wish the
Blaze was as easy to use as the Zip.