CogniDot: Vasoactivity-based Cognitive Load Monitoring with a Miniature On-skin Sensor

Vascular activities offer valuable signatures for psychological monitoring applications. We present CogniDot, an affordable, miniature skin sensor placed on the temporal area on the head that senses cognitive loads with a single-pixel color sensor. With its energy-efficient design, bio-compatible adhesive, and compact size (22mm diameter, 8.5mm thickness), it is ideal for long-term monitoring of mind status. We showed in detail the hardware design of our sensor. The user study results with 12 participants show that CogniDot can accurately differentiate between three levels of cognitive loads with a within-user accuracy of 97%. We also discuss its potential for broader applications.