Google Research, the research division of IT company Google, has published a new paper explaining the mechanism of measuring heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV and HRV) using headphones. In this respect returned Attention 9to5Google editors.
The method Google recommends to measure heart rate is called audio plethysmography. When used, the speakers in active noise canceling headphones send a low-intensity signal into the ear canal, causing an echo. This echo is not heard by the ear, but is detected by the headset’s microphone. Echoes are distorted by small changes in the ear canal, including those that cause heart palpitations. Thus, the microphone records these changes and the software interprets them as data about the functioning of the heart.
Google’s method works even when playing music. Initially, the company had trouble reading data from people while walking, but by searching for frequencies of the research signals, they chose values that did not interfere with the system’s determination of heart rate while in motion.
Google tested the voice plethysmography method on 153 people. The error in HRV was 3.21% and HRV – 2.7%.
The biometric feature could be integrated into the currently released Google headsets via a software update.
On Google Pixel smartphones with previous Android 14 broken memory access.