Although it seems a little crazy, Apple would be investigating a way to create AirPods capable of reading signals from the brain, something new and that could open many doors in the health field, one of those fields that the company likes so much.
We have already seen how AirPods Pro 3 are capable of detecting our heart rate through its sensors, something that, while impressive, does not reach the madness that we will see today. Everything is a project, and of course, nothing is clear or certain, so we will have to pay attention to the progress.
AirPods with brain measurements?
Apple has presented a method based on artificial intelligence that could prepare AirPods to capture signals from the brain.
The method is called PARS. Basically, it allows AI to learn to interpret brain waves without needing someone to manually label the data. That is to say: it analyzes raw signals and detects patterns of brain activity on its own.
This approach worked well in tests: it was able to classify stages of sleep, detect signals related to seizures or motor activity, using EEG data taken from the ear instead of the traditional helmet with electrodes.
Since 2023, Apple has registered a patent that describes headphones with distributed electrodes (something similar to AirPods) capable of measure brain signals from inside or around the ear. With this system you would avoid having visible or uncomfortable sensors.
The idea would be that these headphones collect multiple electrical signals, and an AI algorithm chooses the best combination to generate a reliable reading: sleep, stress, attention, even possible anomalies. All of this would depend a little on the data that it was capable of capturing, but they would try to make it as complete as currently exists on this type of device.
For now, this is not an official product. It is an experiment and a patent. But it is one of those advances that could turn AirPods into something more than headphones: a device capable of reading brain signals and analyzing health or mental states. All of this, logically, with the support of AI, which would carry the greatest workload, since it would be in charge of giving us the final result.
We also don't know if they will actually incorporate it into AirPods, or it would be a separate product. However, everything we have seen on the subject of health from Apple makes us think that yes, they would try to make these Pro headphones capable of not only playing music, but also being a complement to our well-being, with better functions adapted to the medical topic.
And you, do you consider that AirPods are necessary for this type of things, or are we paying for headphones that, on many occasions, we will not want anything more than to listen to music? The truth is that they are very good, however, we will see the price they could have if everything becomes a reality, having to opt, in these cases, for a lower range of them, at least if we do not want to pay for these innovations. Leave us a comment with your opinion about it.
