With 3D printing more widely available than ever, Morpholio, a studio that specializes in developing iOS Apps, has found a way to use its potential in their biometric intelligences research. They did it by creating an iPhone “photoplethysmographer” that allowed them to collect biological data to gain a better understanding of the way the body reacts to media interaction.
The app itself is a volumetric measurement of an organ. Morpholio has 3D printed a device made to fit the iPhone 5 that holds one’s index finger right in front of both the camera and the light. This way Morpholio’s R&D App is able to gather real time information on blood flow and heart rate, by shining the light through the finger and taking shots of the blood moving.
According to Mark Collins, Morpholio’s Co-creator, theywanted to understand how your heart beat changes in relation to the images you are seeing.”
The device 3D printerd by Morpholio indicates how to locate the finger for optimal positioning in front of the camera and flash, while blocking external light from entering the camera and thus ensuring an optimal reading. It is essentially a miniaturized blood pressure machine. Morpholio’s goal is to fully take advantage of the device network that already surrounds us to redefine what current technology can do for us.
“The Smartphone we carry around with us holds an array of sensors [that include] location, orientation, sight and sound”, says Toru Hasegawa, also one of Morpholio’s Co-creators. “There is a huge potential for understanding more of ourselves by tapping into these signals.”
