US Ear Device Patents in October 2018
As long as people have been wearing hearing aids, and as long as audiologists have been fitting and tailoring them to individual users, there has always been one intractable problem. That is that hearing aids are standalone devices with (relatively) high IQs and (lamentably) low EQs. What is the Intelligence of Smart Hearing Devices?…
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US Ear Device Patents in September 2018
The Internet of Things and Us Apple’s image of the IoT (feature image, from USPTA #10067734) is a pyramid with AirPods on top. In this patent, Hearables alert the IoT universe when they’re in the ears, ready to receive and send with phone, watch, computer, etc; likewise, the alert when they leave the ears.…
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US Ear Device Patents in August 2018
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that require attention, such as how to keep track of your sunglasses and Hearables (c.f. USPTO #10052235: Lanyard with integrated ear plugs and retractable sheath). Sometimes it’s the little ones in life that deserve attention. “Headset enabling extraordinary hearing” (USPTO #10051372 ) by Bose doesn’t bestow auditory superpowers on children. But it…
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US Ear Device Patents in July 2018
Telecommunications have come a long way since the days of party lines when Ernestine the operator routed calls to the right party while everyone listened in on the line. Forget about HIPAA: privacy wasn’t part of the deal. ID was by oral confirmation (“Yes, I’m the party to whom you’re speaking.”), all done while holding…
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US Ear Device Patents in June 2018
The patent list continues to lean in on ear devices that use the ear as a conveyor belt for things far beyond what audiologists used to think of as hearing “better.” They raise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) questions about what “better” may mean as technology continues to unfolds. The following are June’s…
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