If you want to constantly monitor your body temperature and you wear earrings all day, why not let these earrings do the job? This is the design concept of "thermal earrings", and maybe one day it will appear on your ears. The prototype of the device, developed by a team of scientists at the University of Washington, is "about the size and weight of a small paper clip."
It contains two temperature sensors, one of which is attached to the earlobe with a magnet and the other is suspended in the open air below the earlobe. The former sensor measures the temperature of the earlobe, while the latter sensor measures the ambient room temperature as a reference.
The device utilizes an integrated antenna and Bluetooth low energy module to transmit readings at regular intervals throughout the day and enters sleep mode between transmissions to conserve power. The onboard battery can keep the wearable device running for 28 days per charge.
In tests on six volunteers, the earrings were found to be better than smartwatches at measuring skin temperature during rest, which is related to the body's core temperature. It also "holds promise" as a means of monitoring stress and ovulation, as well as activities such as eating and exercise.
With further development, the device could also monitor the wearer's heart rate and other vital signs. Of course, it can also be decorated with resin or gemstones to make it look more like a real piece of jewelry.
"Current wearable devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit are equipped with temperature sensors, but they can only provide an average temperature for a day, and the temperature they read from the wrist and hand fluctuates too much to track ovulation, so we wanted to explore unique applications for earrings, especially ones that might appeal to women and anyone who cares about fashion."