San Francisco studio Lapka has imagined a range of healthcare accessories that would fit onto the Google Project Ara modular smartphone. With the imagined Lapka x Project Ara product line, Ara users would not only have the option to upgrade their smartphones’ cameras, screens, and batteries—they’d also be able to plug in things like a CO2 monitor or a glucometer. The concept comprises seven components in all — an air quality sensor, a light sensor, a CO2 monitor, an EKG node that measures heart activity, a glucometer for glucose tracking, a breathalyzer, and a “soul” module (though Lapka says it “can’t talk about this one just yet.”).
Air Quality
There’s always something in the air. Air quality affects our comfort, health and other external parts of our environment that we care about. Now you’ll know when and where should you open a window, where to place your yoga mat, and even why you’re dreaming a certain way.
CO2
Awareness of the unknown becomes comfort with the known. Something as invisible and scary as carbon dioxide is easy to avoid thinking about. The sensor would not only do this thinking for you, but also make for an easier experience when you do have to think about it.
Light
Light will always be one our closest companions. Whether you’re stepping into the daylight, switching on a lamp or watching the sunset, light is an external factor we all have and use. But it’s so ambient that we can overlook how much it has to say. Our interaction with light, or the absence of it, can inform our habits of conservation, activity and reclusivity.
EKG
Your phone becomes more intimate than ever when holding the phone and measuring your heart becomes the same gesture. This degree of accessibility changes your relationship to activity and even what it means to have a pulse.
Glucometer
Continuous glucose tracking informs our diet and activity. But interacting with your phone rather than a medical device makes your relationship with your health not only as accessible as looking through your photos, but just as enjoyable.
Breathalyzer
Access to your breath alcohol content can provide more than insight into your health or fun for your party. The data could develop a story based on who you’re with, where you are and the state in which you interact with each.
“Soul”
We can’t talk about this one just yet.
