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]-- notexactly, Mar 15 2020 Amazon: Bluetooth earbuds with a thermometer in the charging case https://www.amazon....hones/dp/B07ZVSPGG7Closest 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] Do earbuds go in far enough to take an accurate core temperature reading?-- 21 Quest, Mar 15 2020 I don't know. These ones would…?-- notexactly, Mar 15 2020 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?-- 21 Quest, Mar 15 2020 // Do earbuds go in far enough //
Depends how big the hammer is. Eventually, yes.-- 8th of 7, Mar 15 2020 There's the sweethearted, warm fuzzy Borg I remember!-- 21 Quest, Mar 16 2020 // 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.-- notexactly, Mar 20 2020 Shame on you, [not]. Don't give out actual facts, they just confuse the proles.-- 8th of 7, Mar 20 2020 I did see those, but those are even less laser-involving.-- notexactly, Mar 20 2020 random, halfbakery