Next-Gen Earphones Monitor your Vital Signs While you Enjoy your Music

If you’re already putting something in your ear, why not let it keep tabs on your health while it’s there? That’s the idea behind OpenEarable 2.0 — a pair of advanced earphones equipped with sensors that track more than 30 physiological metrics.

Developed by Dr. Tobias Röddiger and his team at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), these open-source earphones and their companion software are now available for preorder at €2,348 (around US$2,566). Being open-source means developers can modify and improve them, then share their innovations with the wider community.

While their primary appeal lies in medical use, the OpenEarables could also find roles in areas like workplace safety and athletic performance monitoring.

Play Music and Monitor Health Simultaneously

And yes, they function as regular stereo earphones too, streaming music from a paired smartphone. A companion app on the same device processes and displays the physiological data collected by the earphones.

Notably, Dr. Röddiger confirms that the devices can simultaneously monitor health metrics and play music without any interference between the two functions. However, it’s worth noting that they only work with Android devices that support the Bluetooth LE Audio protocol — meaning they aren’t currently compatible with iPhones.

So, what exactly can the OpenEarables track? Here are a few examples…

Equipped with two infrasound/ultrasound microphones—one directed outward and the other inward into the ear canal—the OpenEarables can monitor heart activity and even verify the user’s identity. A built-in bone-conduction microphone detects activities like eating, silently mouthing words, or teeth grinding during sleep.

Comprehensive Health Monitoring with Advanced Sensors

Additional features include a pulse oximeter that measures blood oxygen levels, useful for identifying sleep apnea, assessing stress, or estimating energy use. There’s also an optical skin temperature sensor for monitoring body temperature or tracking ovulation. Other integrated sensors include an ear canal pressure sensor, which can detect eating or tongue movements, and a 9-axis IMU (inertial measurement unit) that monitors breathing patterns and exercise performance.

Up to 8 Hours of Use from a 45-Minute Charge

A single 45-minute USB charge of each earphone’s battery is reportedly enough for up to eight hours of use, depending on how they are used.

“The platform has been shown to capture physiological data with high accuracy and reliability, delivering results that are more precise than traditional standard measurements,” says Röddiger. “With OpenEarable 2.0, we can not only advance wearable technology but also unlock entirely new application possibilities.”

For the record, these aren’t the first earphones designed to monitor the body. Previous models have been capable of identifying users, measuring brain activity, analyzing sweat, and diagnosing ear conditions.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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