# Design and Evaluation of Wearable Solar Radiation Shields for Enhanced Personal Heat Exposure Monitoring

## TL;DR

This study designs wearable solar shields to improve the accuracy of personal heat exposure monitoring in urban areas.

## Contribution

The paper introduces wearable solar radiation shields to reduce temperature bias in urban heat exposure measurements.

## Key findings

- Wearable solar radiation shields reduced temperature bias by an average of 3 °F.
- The shields improved sensor reliability in direct sunlight and urban environments.
- Four different form factors were tested for on-body use with iButton sensors.

## Abstract

Extreme heat is one of the main climate-induced public health risks to communities around the world. Understanding an individual’s vulnerability to heat is challenging, as heat exposures vary significantly depending on occupation, travel behaviors, personal activities, and the surrounding urban environment. Previous validation studies have found that commonly used wearable temperature sensors are less reliable in highly urbanized areas and when worn in direct sunlight. The aim of our study is to investigate the potential to improve the reliability of wearable temperature sensors commonly used in personal heat exposure studies. To accomplish this aim, we designed and rapidly prototyped a set of solar radiations shields to decrease temperature bias when worn in direct sunlight and in areas of high impervious surfaces. In a field deployment, we tested four different form factors for solar radiation shields, which were specifically designed to house the iButton sensor and to be worn on-body. Initial results have shown that these wearable solar radiation shields can improve sensor reliability by decreasing temperature bias by 3 °F on average. These findings highlight the potential for wearable radiation shields to enhance personal heat exposure measurements in urban environments.