OpenEarable: A new, open-source, Arduino-based platform for ear-based sensing
open-earable.teco.edu
open-earable.teco.edu
> Earables are ear-worn devices that offer functionalities beyond basic audio in- and output. In this paper we present the ongoing de- velopment of a new, open-source, Arduino-based earable platform called OpenEarable. It is based on standard components, is easy to manufacture and costs roughly $40 per device at batch size ten.
> We demonstrate the versatility of the prototyping platform through three different example application scenarios.
The three example apps are:
> Measuring motion on the ear is a common application in the earable space which can be used for a number of applications
> A popular ear canal pressure application is the detection of jaw motions
> It is possible for the ultrasonic microphone to pick up an inaudible signal from the speaker. This information can be used to understand the shape of the ear canal because the sound is reflected differently depending on the shape, a principle which can be used for authentication
The paper also mentioned ClearBuds[1] which looks interesting too.
Prescription hearing aids are expensive, and they aren't just amps that make sounds "louder". An open source hearing aid project, if it could dramatically reduce the price, could be a huge benefit to a lot of people.
Cool to see them pop up here, as my colleague Tobi built them here at our lab and is now pushing a spin off.
Actually to get an impression what is possible with ear sensing I am still fascinated by this application Tobi did before building openearable, which uses in ear muscle contraction for doing interaction (next song, etc):
For example, AirPod Pros have a motion sensor. I'd love to build an app that uses this to fuse with video for a bouldering analysis thing I work on in my spare time.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coremotion/cmheadp...
http://omnibuds.tech/ (Both from Nokia Bell Labs)
And a literature review from the designer of the OpenEarables: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3550314
https://auracleproject.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/bi-ubicom...
If just one of either, how do you decide which one to get?
On the one hand, if I am right handed, I might find it more easy to quickly take it on and off if it's on the right side. But at the same time, that would also mean that whenever I answer my phone I'd also have to take it out first. Unless it can also be paired with the phone and used when answering calls.
What is the inward-facing ultrasonic microphone for?