How Nokia Bell Labs & Cambridge Future Tech Will Develop AI

The intersection of AI and healthcare continues to yield groundbreaking innovations.

As global populations age and healthcare systems face mounting pressures, tech companies are increasingly turning their attention to developing solutions that can monitor and manage health data more effectively.

This trend has led to a surge in wearable devices designed to track various physiological metrics, with the latest development focusing on ear-worn technology.

In this light, the collaboration between Nokia Bell Labs and Cambridge Future Tech, a venture builder that specialises in turning cutting-edge innovations into market-leading businesses, is a significant step forward in this field.

Together, the companies have created the new ear-worn AI computing platform, called OmniBuds.

Nokia Bell Labs and Cambridge Future Tech join forces

This collaboration aims to bring to market a device that can monitor vital signs, physical activities and audio experiences in real-time.

The OmniBuds platform, developed by Nokia Bell Labs, is being touted as the world's first ear-worn AI/machine learning (ML) computing platform designed for physiological monitoring.

It is capable of tracking heart and respiration rates, as well as users' physical activities.

The partnership builds on Nokia Bell Labs' long-standing relationship with the University of Cambridge.

In 2018, Nokia Bell Labs became a founding partner of the Centre for Mobile, Wearable Systems and Augmented Intelligence at the University of Cambridge's Department of Computer Science and Technology.

This centre has been focusing on advancing state-of-the-art mobile systems, security, new materials and AI to improve human communication.

Cambridge Future Tech will be responsible for scaling OmniBuds to meet the growing demand for advanced health monitoring solutions.

Their involvement is crucial in bridging the gap between academic research and commercial viability.

Mike Chen, Vice President of Ventures and Partnerships at Nokia, says: “This engagement between Nokia and Cambridge Future Tech offers an accelerated external research commercialisation pathway to harness the innovation developed by Nokia Bell Labs and utilise Cambridge Future Tech’s venture building prowess, to create new products and services for augmenting people’s lives.”

Revolutionising personal health monitoring

The OmniBuds platform represents a significant advancement in wearable health technology.

By leveraging the ear as a window into the body, the device aims to provide continuous, real-time insights to care providers, potentially enabling earlier interventions and improved patient outcomes.

This technology builds on years of research into using the ear as a site for physiological monitoring.

The ear provides a stable location for sensors and is less prone to movement artefacts compared to wrist-worn devices, potentially offering more accurate and consistent measurements.

Owen Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Cambridge Future Tech, highlights the transformative potential of the technology: "OmniBuds has the potential to completely transform the health tech space and positively impact people's lives around the world".

Nokia Bell Labs and Cambridge Future Tech are expected to accelerate the development and commercialisation of the OmniBuds platform.

By combining Nokia Bell Labs' research expertise with Cambridge Future Tech's commercial acumen, the collaboration aims to bring this disruptive technology to market swiftly.

Thierry E. Klein, President of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia, emphasises the importance of the partnership: "We look to organisations like Cambridge Future Tech to accelerate the value creation from our research by taking our technology innovations out of the lab and putting them into the real-world".

The development of OmniBuds also aligns with broader trends in the healthcare industry towards personalised, preventative care.

By providing continuous monitoring of vital signs and physical activity, such devices could enable early detection of health issues and more tailored healthcare interventions.

As the global demand for personalised health monitoring solutions continues to grow, innovations like the OmniBuds platform are likely to play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of healthcare delivery and management.

The success of this partnership could pave the way for more collaborations between research institutions, tech giants and venture builders, potentially accelerating the pace of innovation in the health tech sector.

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