Even though smartphones carry a considerable array of sensors, Google decided last year to add one more to its Pixel 8 Pro. It was a temperature sensor: We had the opportunity to test it and were amazed by its accuracy.
Now, with their newly announced successors (there are two ‘Pro’ models this year), the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL have it back. However, they may be too expensive if you only want to use that sensor, and so researchers have found a way to measure body temperature with any phone using an alternative method.
‘FeverPhone’ promises to measure your temperature without the need for a thermometer
If you own a Pixel 8 Pro, you probably know about its built-in temperature sensor: it’s located on the back, as is also the case with the renewed Pixel 9 Pro, and is capable of measuring the temperature of objects and people in a most curious process.
The sensor is back in Google’s phones, a striking decision, since it is not one of the basic features, and even less so, requested for a smartphone. Whatever the case, some researchers thought that this sensor was not necessary, and have managed to develop an app to measure temperature.
Thus, all smartphones meet the technical requirements to calculate the body temperature of users. The application has been named «FeverPhone»and although it has not been publicly launched, it is more than prepared for its purpose.
This is how accurate the thermometer built into the Pixel 8 Pro was during our tests. Image by Iván Linares for Xataka Android
In fact, researchers say they have been carrying out tests for months in laboratories, then with patients who visited emergency health centres with feverish symptoms. Thus, using the internal temperature sensors integrated into our mobile phones (which calculate the heat of their components), this task is undertaken.
What is the process? It is not exactly very fast: it consists of pressing our forehead against the touch screen for a few seconds. 90 secondsAfter a minute and a half, our body temperature is transferred to the mobile phone, and the app measures the change in temperature.
The degree of reliability is quite high: it has a average deviation of 0.2 degreesidentical to that of a standard clinical thermometer. This level has been achieved after extensive training of the calculations that the app performs to detect fever.
As of today, the app is still under development and has not yet been released. We will have to wait to try it out, although expectations are high. However, even with its high level of reliability, it can never be considered a medical instrument, just like our smartwatch.
Via | Xataka Mobile, GoogleWatchBlog