Intel and 50 Cent announce earbuds with built-in heart rate sensor

Intel and the audio company of American rapper 50 Cent, SMSAudio, have announced earbuds with a built-in heart rate sensor. They mainly target athletes with the device. The earbuds will be available at the end of this year.

The so-called BioSport In-Ear earphones have a sensor that measures the heart rhythm. This happens during several moments, for example when someone is exercising or when someone is just resting. According to Intel, the earphones, which are not wireless, are equipped in such a way that they do not pick up noise from body movements.

The earphones do not need to be charged. The sensors can be supplied with power via the 3.5 mm jack of a smartphone. The data that the device then collects can be synchronized with RunKeeper, a popular fitness program for tracking sports data, according to Intel. For the time being, this is the only program that is supported, but the chip manufacturer says that more applications will appear for the earphones in the future.

The BioSport earphones are available in the flavors blue, grey, pink and yellow. They have an IPX4 rating, which means they can withstand a limited amount of water. According to Intel, this is necessary to prevent rain and sweat from damaging the ears. An exact release date is not known, but the earbuds will in any case be sold at the end of this year on the SMSAudio site. Intel and SMSAudio have not yet announced a price.

It is not the first time that Intel shows earplugs that can transmit the heartbeat. That happened earlier this year at the CES electronics fair. Then it was also about earplugs that could adjust the music to the heartbeat. Intel also showed a headset that can listen to voice commands and integrate with ‘existing personal assistants’, referring to its proprietary software Jarvis.