Blog about Pedometers
[06/07/2010] History and Technology
Crude versions of the today’s pedometer have existed even in ancient times and often used in military and civil applications; Leonardo Da Vinci is also known to have created a pedometer in the 15th century that was used for mapping and military purpose – sketches of his creation were found in one of his notebooks and his device was using a pendulum in order to record the steps taken.
In later years, the English scientist Robert Hooke is also known to have worked on similar tool and is often credited as the inventor of the pedometer. The person that introduced the pedometer to the United States was Thomas Jefferson, but it is not known if he has brought it from or Europe or this was his own creation.
The technology behind the pedometers has changed from using pendulums and mechanical sensors to the use of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) internal sensors and software that counts the steps. The MEMS sensors can detect acceleration for one, two, or three axis and therefore the pedometers have to be kept vertically, horizontally, or can be placed at any angle (depending on the sensor) in order to work accurately.
