h a l f b a k e r yGo ahead. Stick a fork in it.
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register.
Please log in or create an account.
|
Thermometric earbuds
Bluetooth earbuds with built-in ear thermometers, for core temperature datalogging and alerts | |
Lots of people use Bluetooth earbuds.
Ear thermometers are commonly used for measuring the core temperature of one's body.
Both devices are inserted into the ear.
Bluetooth earbuds are usually used with devices that run apps.
Ear thermometers don't take much power to run, and work just fine
if only checked every few minutes.
I see a possible synergy here. Build Bluetooth earbuds that have built-in ear thermometers, and make a companion smartphone app that logs the temperature they measure (for quantified self purposes), and alerts the user if they start to have a fever.
The only issue I see so far is that the earbuds being in all the time will have an insulating effect on the ear canals, raising the measured temperature (as I'm sure any frequent earbud user is aware). This can be compensated for in the algorithms, or the earbuds can incorporate tiny fans (or my sound-rectifying cooling idea [link]) to eliminate this problem altogether (potentially reducing the measured temperature below the truth, but that can also be compensated for).
N/A [2020-03-15]
Amazon: Bluetooth earbuds with a thermometer in the charging case
https://www.amazon....hones/dp/B07ZVSPGG7
Closest thing I was able to find that exists already. Not really similar at all. What's even the point of knowing the temperature of the charging case? [notexactly, Mar 15 2020]
Sound-rectifying cooling earbuds
by me. Mentioned in idea body. A way to generate a cooling airflow through the ear without needing extra power or moving parts. [notexactly, Mar 15 2020]
[link]
|
| |
Do earbuds go in far enough to take an accurate core
temperature reading? |
|
| |
I don't know. These ones would…? |
|
| |
A possible way to do this would be with an integrated laser
which periodically sends a beam deep into the ear canal, like
those forehead thermometers doctors use. I'm not sure if that
could work without affecting either the fit or audio quality of
the buds, but who knows what future advancements may hold? |
|
| |
// Do earbuds go in far enough // |
|
| |
Depends how big the hammer is. Eventually, yes. |
|
| |
There's the sweethearted, warm fuzzy Borg I remember! |
|
| |
// forehead thermometers // |
|
| |
Maybe there's a technology I'm unaware of that those use, but I'm going to say those are likely just the same thing as the non-contact thermometers you can get at the hardware store, but with medical certification that makes them 100× more expensive. In the ones I'm familiar with, and also (I presume) in the medical forehead ones, the laser is irrelevant to the thermometry and is only an aiming aid for the user (and not always accurate for that purpose, as in my unit). The actual temperature measurement is done by infrared radiometry, which is entirely passive—the target emits infrared light as part of being warm, and the device receives that and measures its intensity. That's also how existing ear thermometers work. |
|
| |
Shame on you, [not]. Don't give out actual facts, they just confuse the proles. |
|
| |
I did see those, but those are even less laser-involving. |
|
| |