This week’s Smart Health roundup features baby-friendly thermometers, wearable tech that utilizes untapped muscles to control your environment, and an invisible gym in your living room.

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Baby-friendly thermometers

If you’ve ever had an infant or toddler in your care, you know how tricky it is to take their temperature when you think they have a fever. Looking to provide relief to infants and caretaker, two baby-friendly thermometers are expected to hit stores this year: the Pacif-i and the eSkin Thermometer.

Pacif-i, a product of BlueMaestro Ltd., looks like a baby’s pacifier but has a temperature sensor built into the silicon teat. It connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy and the data collected can be accessed via the accompanying iOS or Android app. The app allows parents to easily track the temperature as well as plot when medication was given, set-up alerts, and even share the data with their pediatrician. Pacif-i also has a proximity sensor so parents can monitor the pacifier’s location or if their kid wanders off.  Additionally there’s a built-in buzzer that helps parents find Pacif-I when misplaced or hidden. You can now pre-0rder Pacif-i for £25.00.

As for the eSkin Thermometer, it is a digital patch developed by VivaLnk, Inc. the company behind eSkin Tattoos and Digital Tattoos for smartphones. The eSkin Thermometer goes directly on a baby’s skin and is made of breathable materials so it won’t irritate the skin. It connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy. It has a child-friendly teddy bear design that makes it easier for parents to stick them onto their kid’s skin. The eSkin Thermometer is slated for a Spring 2015 release.

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Reach Bionics utilizes untapped muscles for control

Reach Bionics, Inc. is developing wearable technology that utilizes a vestigial muscle system around the ears to provide a new way for people to give commands to connected devices. The peri-auricular or ear muscle is part of this vestigial muscle system that evolved to orient ears towards sounds. Though its function is no longer significant to humans, the muscle still remains and researchers see a huge potential of it being useful in controlling one’s environment.

A special headset is being developed that will be able to sense even the slightest movements of the ear muscles and translate them into commands that can be understood by connected devices. It can be very useful for people who suffered from severe spinal injuries with limited body movement, as the ear muscles remain functional even in these kinds of cases. Special training will be needed to be able to utilize the ear muscle appropriately.

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Tao Chair

Tao-Wellness, the developer of the Tao WellShell portable tiny gym, is gearing to launch the Tao Chair, a chair that allows you to exercise just by sitting on it. The Tao Chair is laced with pressure sensors that you need to trigger to be able to burn calories. The chair is able to work out different muscle groups using the Variobics System, designed specifically for Tao products. It features an arm display that shows the current number of burned calories, as well as the sum total since you started using the Tao Chair.

Using the Tao app, you can go through various types of exercises using the Tao Chair or in combination with the Tao WellShell, as well as access Tao games that encourage calorie burning.