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AirPods — Apple’s truly wireless stereo (TWS) earphones — could double as a health monitoring tool in the future, according to a patent application recently published by the US Patent Office (USPTO). The Cupertino company appears to have invented an AirPods sensor mechanism that would allow the earphones to monitor electrical impulses from the wearer’s brain. The patent describes a system that can monitor brain activity that is typically monitored with the use of electrodes on a patient’s head but the use of AirPods could provide a more discreet way to monitor brain activity.

A patent recently published on the USPTO website describes a wearable electronic device like Apple’s AirPods that is equipped with electrodes, similar to traditional devices used to monitor biosignals such as brain activity, including electroencephalography, electrooculography, galvanic skin response, blood volume pulse, and electromyography. This could allow an AirPods wearer to monitor their brain activity even when they are travelling, without the need for a machine.

Unlike the traditional EEG monitors that are attached to a user’s scalp, the AirPods are likely to move once they are inserted in a user’s ear. In order to account for the fact that ear shape and size can vary, the patent describes a system that integrates active and reference electrodes on the external body of the AirPods’ body, along with several additional electrodes located at different positions on the eartip.

Apple’s patent abstract states the “wearable electronic device includes a sensor circuit and a switching circuit. The switching circuit is operable to electrically connect a number of different subsets of one or more electrodes in the set of electrodes to the sensor circuit.” While the description might sound a little convoluted, the company has included a diagram (figure 2) of the purported device that shows the position of the electrodes on the wireless earphones.

airpods biosensors patent uspto screenshot airpods biosensors

Diagrams from Apple’s patent application show how the technology would work
Photo Credit: Apple (via USPTO)

These AirPods’ eartips will be replaceable, according to Apple’s patent application, which also described a mechanism (figure 5) that allows a user to tap a section of the earphone’s body to start measurement of biosignals.

Meanwhile, another diagram (figure 10) shows the location of both the electrodes on the eartip and the touch sensitive area from a different angle, while suggesting that the functionality could also be supported on wired earphones such as EarPods or a pair of glasses — the reference and active electrodes would be placed on the first and second stem of the glasses, according to the document. 

It is currently unclear whether Apple plans to bring the ability to measure biosignals to its popular AirPods and other wearable devices, while a recent report suggests that the company is exploring ways to add new health features such as temperature monitoring to its earphones. Apple is also working on ways to enhance its existing health monitoring products and is reportedly working on adding non-invasive blood sugar monitoring to the Apple Watch, which is expected to make its way to a future version of the wearable device.


Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company’s new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Doomed Exoplanet TOI-2109b Spirals Toward Its Star with Three Possible Fates

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Doomed Exoplanet TOI-2109b Spirals Toward Its Star with Three Possible Fates

The gas giant TOI-2109b is more than five times as massive as Jupiter, and resides in a perilous orbit 870 light-years from our planet. As an “ultrahot Jupiter,” it completes a lap around its parent star in a mere 16 hours, the briefest orbit of any such planet known. It is baking its atmosphere to broiling temperatures, and inching closer to oblivion in an orbit that is slowly pulling it in toward its parent sun. Using archived space telescope data from TESS and Cheops, astronomers have observed the testimony of this inevitable spiral, and contemplated three (wildly divergent) possible fates of the doomed planet.

Fates for TOI-2109b

According to the new research, conducted with data from NASA’s TESS and ESA’s Cheops missions shows that TOI-2109b’s orbit is decaying — a process it will continue for thousands of Earth’s years to come by 10 seconds over three Earth years. This proves that it is in a process of slow in fall. If the decay becomes worse, the planet may start falling directly into its host star and create a luminous flare, just like ZTF SLRN-2020. Alternatively, the star’s tidal forces could permanently warp the planet and rip it asunder.

A Potential Planetary Rebirth

There is a third, less-tragic possibility which could happen through a process of photoevaporation, in which strong radiation from the hosting star removes TOI-2109b’s gaseous envelope to reveal its rocky core. If the planet shrinks quickly enough, it might survive the process, avoiding its destruction by spiraling within its eternal Roche limit, and settling as a super-Earth or Neptune-sized blow-up hard relic. Then TOI-2109b would be an odd, rare opportunity to witness up close how this process unfolds.

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Hubble Spots Interstellar Invader Comet 3I/ATLAS for the First Time

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Hubble Spots Interstellar Invader Comet 3I/ATLAS for the First Time

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken its initial shots of comet 3I/ATLAS, a comet visiting us from beyond our solar system that recently fell apart — but not before it struck a pose for the cameras. It’s only the third such object ever known, after 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. The subject of numerous scientific tweets and some frantic searches by astronomers anxious to figure out just what it is — and where it came from — before it is gone into the pitch black of deep space forever, 3I/ATLAS was first sighted by the ATLAS survey telescope on July 1, 2025.

Ancient Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Offers Clues to Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own

According to As per Space.com, recent studies indicate that 3I/ATLAS could be some 7 billion years old, well beyond the 4.6 billion years of our solar system. That’s an indication that the comet arose in the more ancient parts of the Milky Way, which would give researchers a rare glimpse of what the early days of other planetary systems were like. Undergraduate researcher Astrafoxen first flagged the Hubble images on Bluesky, noting the comet’s “nice and puffy” coma, despite interference from cosmic rays.

A newly available preprint paper has already revealed that 3I/ATLAS contains abundant water ice and a dust makeup resembling D-type asteroids—organic-rich bodies typically found in the outer solar system. Unlike ultrared trans-Neptunian objects, D-types are believed to have high carbon and silicate content, potentially shedding light on the comet’s deep-space origins and volatile chemistry.

The comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered just as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory was gearing up to carry out its initial observations of the heavens, dovetailing with the LSST’s expected discovery of many more interstellar objects in the coming decade.

Until then, 3I/ATLAS holds the astronomical spotlight. Its brief solar system passage offers a precious opportunity for researchers to analyse the material makeup of alien planetary systems. The Hubble images, now available for download, are expected to aid future papers as scientists continue to unravel the story of this ancient cosmic traveller.

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Meet Walker S2: The Self-Sufficient Humanoid Robot with Swappable Battery Tech

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Meet Walker S2: The Self-Sufficient Humanoid Robot with Swappable Battery Tech

In today’s world, there are amazing and weird humanoid robots; however, there is one which is an eye-catching machine launched in 2025 with its battery pack. This makes it more capable of running for a full day and even seven days a week. The robot’s name is Walker S2, and it has been made by the Chinese company UBTECH with dimensions of 5 feet 3 inches or 162 centimetres in height and weighs 43 kilograms or 95 pounds, which makes it a perfect size and weight for a small adult.

Walker S2: A Self-Sufficient Humanoid Robot with Swappable Battery System

As per UBTECH, it is a great robot, as with the help of a 48-volt lithium battery wrapped in a dual battery system, the robot can stand for four hours and walk for two hours before the power runs out. It takes 90 minutes to recharge the battery completely once it is depleted. It is the first robot which doesn’t need human interference to remove and recharge the battery, as it can do this on its own.

In a video published on July 17, 2025, on YouTube, the Walker S2 is also observed as charging its battery by approaching the station. It uses its arms to remove the battery pack, which is fitted in the back and places it into a vacant slot to recharge. It then takes out a fresh battery pack then inserts it into the dedicated port.

UBTECH’s Vision: Walker S2 as the Future of Factory and Public Service Robotics

It has been reported by the Chinese publication CnEVPost that Walker S2 removes and swaps its battery pack when one of its batteries is out of power. It can also detect the remaining power left and decide whether it can swap or charge the battery pack.

This robot is designed to be used in factories and other places where it can do the jobs of humans and greet and meet customers at public places. Further, it has 20 degrees of freedom and is compatible with Bluetooth and WiFi.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


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