Active Acoustic Sensing in Hearables for Audioplethysmography
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Solution Overview
Problem
Health monitoring devices can be obtrusive, uncomfortable, and costly, leading individuals to forego health monitoring during daily activities.
Innovation Solution
Implementing active acoustic sensing through hearables, such as earbuds, that form a partial seal in the ear canal to transmit and receive acoustic signals, enabling audioplethysmography for biometric monitoring, facial behavior recognition, and environment sensing without additional hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional health monitoring devices are used, then health monitoring capability is provided, but the devices become obtrusive and uncomfortable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by enabling existing hearable devices to perform both audio playback and health monitoring functions. The hearable device uses its existing acoustic components (speaker and microphone) to perform audioplethysmography for biometric monitoring, eliminating the need for separate dedicated health monitoring devices and making health tracking unobtrusive.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearable device serves itself by using its own acoustic hardware (speaker and microphone) to perform health monitoring functions. The device transmits acoustic signals through its speaker, captures the returned signals through its microphone, and processes these signals to extract biometric information, eliminating the need for additional auxiliary sensors or separate devices.
2Reliability
If traditional health monitoring devices are used, then health monitoring is provided, but the devices are costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces cost by making existing hearable devices multi-functional. Instead of requiring separate expensive medical-grade sensors, the system uses the already-manufactured speaker and microphone in hearables to perform health monitoring, leveraging existing infrastructure to avoid additional manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system eliminates the need for additional hardware components by having the hearable device perform health monitoring using its own built-in acoustic components. This self-service approach removes the need for separate sensor modules, reducing bill of materials costs and simplifying manufacturing.
3Measurement precision
If auxiliary sensors are used for health monitoring, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hearable device uses its own existing acoustic components (speaker and microphone) to perform health monitoring, eliminating the need for additional auxiliary sensors. The device processes the acoustic signals it generates and captures to extract biometric information, maintaining measurement capability without increasing hardware complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the health monitoring functionality from separate auxiliary sensors and integrates it into the existing hearable device using its acoustic components. By taking out the need for additional sensors and using the hearable's built-in speaker and microphone instead, the system reduces device complexity while maintaining measurement capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides a reliable, portable, and affordable health monitoring solution that is unobtrusive, improving user experience and accessibility by utilizing existing wireless hearables for biometric tracking and environmental awareness.
Implementation Method 1
transmitting an acoustic transmit signal that propagates within at least a portion of an ear canal of a user
Implementation Method 2
a novel physiological monitoring process termed herein audioplethysmography, an active acoustic method capable of sensing subtle physiologically-related changes observable at a user's outer and middle ear
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques and apparatuses are described that perform active acoustic sensing. Provided according to one or more preferred embodiments is a hearable, such as an earbud, that is capable of performing a novel physiological monitoring process termed herein audioplethysmography, an active acoustic method capable of sensing subtle physiologically-related changes observable at a user's outer and middle ear. Instead of relying on other auxiliary sensors, such as optical or electrical sensors, audioplethysmography involves transmitting and receiving acoustic signals to monitor a user's biometrics, recognize facial behaviors, and/or sense an environment. In addition to being relatively unobtrusive, some hearables can be configured to support audioplethysmography without the need for additional hardware. As such, the size, cost, and power usage of the hearable can help make health monitoring accessible to a larger group of people and improve the user experience with hearables.