Wearable technology like Fitbit and smartwatches provide continuous data on our daily activity and sleep patterns. However, emotional and dietary health tracking remain largely untapped. Emteq Labs is pioneering a new approach to smart eyewear that aims to address these crucial areas. This article explores the innovative technology behind Emteq Labs’ Sense smartglasses and their potential to revolutionize health monitoring.
The side of the Emteq Labs Sense smartglasses.
Emteq Labs CEO Steen Strand believes there’s a significant opportunity to improve well-being by focusing on emotional and dietary health through smart eyewear. The Apple Watch’s success in health applications serves as inspiration. Emteq Labs aims to transcend the capabilities of smartphones, developing smartglasses that offer unique functionalities.
How Emteq Labs’ Smartglasses Work
Unlike camera-equipped smartglasses like Ray-Ban Meta or Solos AirGo Vision, Emteq Labs’ Sense smartglasses utilize inward-facing, lensless sensors. These sensors track facial movements and skin texture, providing insights typically only accessible in laboratory settings. This technology focuses on two key areas: mood and eating habits.
Mood Tracking with Facial Expression Analysis
Data taken from the Emteq Labs Sense smartglasses.
Emteq Labs’ founder, Dr. Charles Nduka, a facial reconstructive surgeon, explains that depressed individuals often exhibit reduced facial movement, a downward head posture, and fewer smiles. The Sense smartglasses detect subtle muscle movements related to eyebrow and cheek activity. This real-time analysis of facial expressions allows for a nuanced understanding of emotional states.
While smartwatches and rings measure stress through heart rate and other metrics, facial expressions provide more context. Elevated heart rate could indicate exercise, not necessarily stress. Emteq Labs’ smartglasses differentiate between various emotional states, charting moods throughout the day and providing historical data on mood fluctuations. This detailed information has significant potential for mental health diagnosis and treatment.
Dietary Tracking Through Jaw Movement Analysis
Data taken from the Emteq Labs Sense smartglasses.
The Sense smartglasses also track eating habits by monitoring jaw movement. This allows for the measurement of chewing rate, a novel metric linked to calorie intake. Faster consumption of calorie-dense foods can contribute to weight gain. The data collected provides insights into meal timing, duration, snacking patterns, and chewing speed. These data points are correlated with overall metabolic health.
This technology can empower individuals to identify and modify unhealthy eating habits. The platform differentiates between eating and other activities like talking or laughing with high accuracy. Detailed data on chewing patterns and food types provide further insights. Encouraging slower eating can improve satiety and aid in weight management. While primarily sensor-based, the smartglasses also incorporate a small outward-facing camera for optional food photo logging and AI-powered calorie estimation. This feature complements the detailed data on eating behaviors.
The Future of Emteq Labs Smartglasses
An exploded view of the Emteq Labs Sense smartglasses
Emteq Labs’ Sense smartglasses provide continuous, real-time data on mood and eating habits, previously only attainable in laboratory settings. The current developer kit is being used in partnership with health organizations. Emteq Labs is exploring hardware partnerships to create more wearable designs, aiming for a form factor similar to Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses. The platform’s potential applications extend beyond personal health, including sentiment analysis for market research. Emteq Labs’ innovative approach to smart eyewear offers a promising future for health tracking and beyond.
