Smart Earrings

Fitness bands and smart watches have been making a big splash in the fitness world, but in the world of fashion, they leave something to be desired – particularly for women. So, one inventor came up with an innovative solution that not only looks good, but may actually perform better. Ear-o-Smart earrings combine all the functionality of a wrist-mounted fitness tracker, including heart rate, calories burned and activity level. They connect to an iOS or Android smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0 where you can analyze your data and track your improvement over time.

Using a technique called photoplethysmography (PPG), heart rate is detected by illuminating a blood vessel with an LED and measuring the amount of light absorbed by the blood. While most devices measure this on the wrist, the ear may actually provide more stable results due to less interference from movement.

The small size (about 0.63 inches in diameter) was achieved by stacking three circuit boards on top of each other. Although the current models use a small cell battery, a rechargeable version is in the works which will utilize a USB charging cradle. The first units are scheduled to ship in June 2015 pending a successful Kickstarter campaign.