In a groundbreaking patent application published by the US Patent & Trademark Office, Apple has unveiled plans for a next-generation…

Apple has patented a new AirPods sensor system that integrates active and reference electrodes into the housing and tips to measure brain activity and other biosignals[1]. The system can monitor electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and electrooculography (EOG) through electrodes placed around the outer ear[2].

The technology uses dynamic electrode selection, intelligently choosing specific electrodes based on user parameters and wearing conditions to optimize accuracy[2:1]. Users could potentially activate measurements through simple gestures like tapping the AirPods tip[2:2].

However, experts note significant challenges - current in-ear EEG systems require patient-specific 3D ear scans and careful cleaning procedures that may not align with Apple’s consumer product approach[3].

  1. LinkedIn - Apple’s AirPods Revolution: New Patent for Measuring Biosignals and Reading Minds ↩︎

  2. Medium - Apple’s Next-Gen AirPods with Brainwave Monitoring ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Manifold Markets - Will Apple Airpods have EEG based BCI control features by 2026? ↩︎

  • minorkeys@lemmy.world
    9·
    2 days ago

    They don’t sell because they know the value of it and want to use it themselves. Why would they empower their rivals by sharing their data?

    • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      In comparison to tech rivals, they actively don’t collect a lot of the data they could be gathering and its been argued it’s one reason Siri is so ineffably stupid in comparison to eg google.