This article was taken from the March 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
The tiny device nestled in Bragi CEO Nikolaj Hviid's ear is The Dash, a new wearable device from the Munich-based startup. Like regular headphones, they play music via a Bluetooth connection and can hold up to 1,000 songs in their 4GB flash memory. But they are also health monitors that track heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, calories burnt and exercise metrics. The Dash can even select music on the fly, based on your personal biometrics.
The sensor-packed earphones -- which won the CES Best of Innovation Award in November 2014 --raised more than $3.3 million (£2.2m) on Kickstarter -- ten times its target. After spending six months on the design, the Dash team has working prototypes and says it will ship the device this spring for $299 (£198).
The Dash's two earbuds connect wirelessly with each other, and nine sensors track movement and body vitals. A jawbone microphone, meanwhile, picks up voice while limiting background noise (a "transparent audio" feature can mix background sound in or out with a slide of the touch controls). The Dash can also combine different data sources to guide you while exercising. "What we're doing is on the edge of impossible," says Hviid, 40.
The Danish founder certainly has form: he was previously the head of design at audio firm Harman (which operates brands including AKG and JBL), and his 30-strong team boasts expertise from AKG to Apple, with ten science postgraduates.
Hviid says The Dash could be developed to read head gestures to steer a wheelchair, or be used as a real-time language translation device between users. WIRED is just happy that the days of tangled headphone leads could be numbered.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
