Is it possible to detect mobile phone user´s attention based on accelerometer measurment of gait pattern?

Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in today´s world. Their ever increasing computational power and sensing capabilities have made them well suited for number of tasks well beyond their original purpose of communication. But mobile phone usage while walking or driving can potentially be dangerous leading to serious injury or even death. In the paper we answer the question is it possible using only mobile phone´s embedded accelerometer to detect changes in gait pattern caused by changed attention level due to interaction with mobile device like reading on-screen text. Experimental measurements were conducted on 8 test subjects in indoor environment with each test subject performing 6 trials. Two different approaches based on gait phase and gait velocity were tested on recorded data in batch mode with more promising one implemented in real-time manner. Obtained results are presented and discussed and possible future research directions outlined.