This Big Tech patent tracks your brain, eyes, and body — with earbuds
A proposed device has the potential to monitor how much energy a person's skeletal muscles produce, a patent application reveals.
The notion that earbuds are simply a convenient way to take phone calls or listen to music on the go may be a thing of the past if certain applications reach their goal. However, given the timeline, headphones may already be capable of recording complex biometrics of the person who wears them.
'The device may have more electrodes than are necessary.'
Online researchers have recently discovered the patent, first filed by Apple Inc. in January 2023, titled "Biosignal Sensing Device Using Dynamic Selection of Electrodes," which is still pending.
The patent describes how brain activity can be monitored by electrodes placed inside or around the outer ear of the user. Images provided look very similar to Apple AirPods.
The headphones are described as a "wearable electronic device, such as an earbud, a pair of earbuds, and/or a wired headset."
The earbuds would "measure biosignals of a user of the wearable electronic device," which may include, "but are not limited" to: electroencephalography, electrooculography, electromyography, electrocardiogram, "galvanic skin response," and "blood volume pulse."
All of these measurements seem incredibly intrusive, particularly when each term is dissected in detail.
First, electroencephalography is a technique that measures the brain's electrical signals and how its neurons communicate with each other. The patent literally states that the earbud "may be used to measure a biosignal, for example, an electroencephalogram (EEG), for measuring brain activity."
Things only get more bizarre from there.
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Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Electrooculography, also known as EOG, is a standard technique for measuring eye movements via electrical potentials, which are the body's tiny electrical outputs. The body's movements — in this case from the eye — can be identified by how many millivolts are produced in the area.
Next is electrocardiogram; Apple wants its device to be able to measure electrical heart activity.
Additionally, blood volume pulse measurements would monitor the user's heart rate.
At the same time, the patent covers electromyography and galvanic skin response. These techniques also measure the body's electrical activity in very specific manners.
According to Cleveland Clinic, electromyography is a diagnostic test that evaluates the health and function of skeletal muscles and the nerves that control them. In this context, it would measure the electric activity produced by a wearer's skeletal muscles.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
Galvanic skin response is described by Noldus as the measurement of "the skin's electrical conductance, which changes with sweat gland activity."
"This activity is controlled by the autonomic nervous system," the description adds. This means that the earbuds would measure the electrical conductivity of the user's skin.
Lastly, the patent describes that the device may have "more electrodes than are necessary" in order to measure user biosignals. The justification for this is to account for how the device is being worn, with it dynamically choosing between different subsets of electrodes at different times.
There is no clearly stated end goal described in the patent; it chiefly seeks to monitor brain activity and "biosignals" in a manner alternate to electrodes on the scalp. What that information would be used for is up for interpretation.
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