AutoAugHAR: Automated Data Augmentation for Sensor-based Human Activity Recognition

Sensor-based HAR models face challenges in cross-subject generalization due to the complexities of data collection and annotation, impacting the size and representativeness of datasets. While data augmentation has been successfully employed in domains like natural language and image processing, its application in HAR remains underexplored. This study presents AutoAugHAR, an innovative two-stage gradient-based data augmentation optimization framework. AutoAugHAR is designed to take into account the unique attributes of candidate augmentation operations and the unique nature and challenges of HAR tasks. Notably, it optimizes the augmentation pipeline during HAR model training without substantially extending the training duration. In evaluations on eight inertial-measurement-units-based benchmark datasets using five HAR models, AutoAugHAR has demonstrated superior robustness and effectiveness compared to other leading data augmentation frameworks. A salient feature of AutoAugHAR is its model-agnostic design, allowing for its seamless integration with any HAR model without the need for structural modifications. Furthermore, we also demonstrate the generalizability and flexible extensibility of AutoAugHAR on four datasets from other adjacent domains. We strongly recommend its integration as a standard protocol in HAR model training and will release it as an open-source tool1.