Apple and Biosensing: More than just watches
In Tech Corner this week I wanted to talk about one of Apple’s patents from 2023 that went viral when a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London pointed out the potential privacy concerns in a LinkedIn post. A quick summary: Apple filed a patent for a “Biosignal Sensing Device” - basically a tricked-out AirPod with a suite of extra sensors, focused on monitoring brain activity (their words). The biosignals they list range from brain wave monitoring (EEG) to tracking facial muscle firing (EMG). The health applications for this if it becomes a viable product would be extraordinary - the ability to detect (or predict!) stroke events or the earliest signs of neurological disorders are just the tip of the iceberg. Data privacy, though, is an obvious concern. The medical privacy landscape has already shifted now that health data is no longer locked in a clinician’s office. The ownership of data from wearables should be held by the user, but do any of us really read the full Terms & Conditions? And Apple is a profit-driven company, they’re not in the business of altruism. While more sensors sell more AirPods, that doesn’t fully support this level of R&D, so what else are they planning to do with this data?
Apple’s “Biosignal Sensing Device” (AirPod) schematic
But back to the technical side! Let’s talk about the technical viability of this patent. One of the major technical hurdles for any wearable, aside from quality of the signal from the sensor, is battery life. Sensors require a lot of power, especially if they’re collecting continuously in the background. We spoke with the R&D team at a large hearing aid company this week about integrating our LMMs into their in-ear devices. Their biggest concern is battery life - their users wear their devices all day, and keeping their motion sensors on continuously is a drain on the battery. You have to get smart about when the sensors should turn on and collect, for us that would be when someone is moving. Apple’s patent isn’t just about adding an array of sensing electrodes, it also covers “smart” activation of these sensors based on environmental conditions like noise level and skin contact. That’s right, these sensors rely on contact with the skin, and, as Apple notes in their patent, everyone’s ears are shaped differently (an ear fingerprint rather than a movement fingerprint), which makes building a product that can maintain sensor contact with the skin a challenge; it has to be in a flexible membrane that can mold to the shape of the ear canal - like the tips on the current AirPod Pros. Now you have battery life challenges, sensor sensitivity / size challenges, material challenges, and human variability challenges! This being said, like many American hardware companies, Apple’s IP policy is aggressive (see also: Nike) - they file patents for tech that may not reach consumers for another decade, if at all. Apple is betting that a.) consumers will continue to want more devices monitoring their health (even potentially at the expense of privacy) and b.) the sensor, battery, and material technology will get there. Now back to building the software for the sensors they already have in their headphones! 🧠
The current state of Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electromyography (EMG)*
*Those are Alex’s legs being used for testing muscle firing using EMG in the lab back in 2018 - this is also a way of quantifying gait!
Want to know a bit more about my background and inspiration? Check out this segment from my interview on the Tech Business Podcast with Paul Essery! The full interview is here.