UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When a pair of Penn State researchers needed to collect real-time data from human research subjects, they found the existing tools at their disposal were lacking.

Necessity became the mother of invention, and six years ago, Zita Oravecz and Timothy R. Brick, associate professors of human development and family studies, teamed up to develop Wear-IT, a smartphone app that, when combined with wearable technology, allows researchers to collect both self-reported responses and passively collected data in real time to track, analyze, and respond to psychological states.

They have filed a patent application and plan to spin off a company using the Wear-IT technology. When exploring consumer applications for the technology they developed, the team identified that people with autism spectrum conditions and those recovering from various types of addiction could benefit most from the app. The app could also be useful to anyone who wants to understand their own emotional states and the forces that influence them.

According to Oravecz, “When people are aware of the factors that influence their emotions and levels of stress, craving, or risk, it can really help them see the patterns in the challenges they face and their emotional responses to them. This will hopefully increase their ability to manage daily life and their specific, personal challenges.”

Read more about the development of the Wear-IT technology and the challenges of bringing it to market, including delays during the COVID-19 pandemic. And learn about how the College of Health and Human Development cultivates entrepreneurship in its students, faculty staff, and alumni in the latest edition of the college's Discovery magazine.