Advancing remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) to facilitate cardiac monitoring in naturalistic settings using webcam technology

Citation

Woelk, S. P., Garfinkel, S. N., Mayiwar, L., et al. (2026). Advancing remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) to facilitate cardiac monitoring in naturalistic settings using webcam technology. Behavior Research Methods, 58, 135. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-026-02953-x

Abstract

Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) is a technique for the monitoring of cardiac signals using simple consumer-grade cameras, such as webcams. Its cost-effectiveness and accessibility make it a promising tool for widespread application, particularly in remote and resource-limited research settings. However, it remains unclear whether rPPG can accurately capture the moment-to-moment fluctuations in heart rate (HR) required for robust HR variability (HRV) estimation. In this study, we collected a novel dataset of 77 participants who completed three behavioral tasks under controlled laboratory conditions, designed to mirror the recording setup typically encountered in home-based online experiments. We validated four rPPG pipeline configurations against the electrocardiogram (ECG) ground truth, using a comprehensive set of measures capturing both signal quality and cardiac variability. Moreover, using data from an emotion anticipation task, we assessed whether, in a typical experimental setting, analyses based on rPPG data yielded statistical results comparable to those obtained from ECG. Our results indicate that rPPG is a promising tool for detecting HR and HRV at the group level, particularly in high-powered studies. At the individual level, rPPG reliably captures average HR, but the accuracy of individual-level HRV estimates remains limited. The findings underscore rPPG’s potential as a low-cost, noninvasive research tool, while highlighting the importance of managing its limitations such as sensitivity to excessive movement and poor illumination through thoughtful study planning and execution.