You can do just about anything with your smartphone--if you've got a free hand or two, of course. Sure, there've been great strides in accessibility features for those who can't control their phones by swiping around the touchscreen interface, like built-in AI assistants like Siri or Bixby and other hands-free control options--but they depend on voice commands. A project led by German PhD student Denys Matthies looks to give us even more hands-free control over our phones with new hardware that could send out your favorite emoji just by flashing a quick smile IRL. The tech, currently being tested in prototype form, is built into something you're probably already used to wearing for much of the day: earbuds. SEE ALSO: There's now an animated poop-emoji keyboard and we hope you're not eating right now The buds are outfitted with electrodes that can detect and identify different facial muscle movements from changes in the shape of a wearer's ear canal.

Send a smiley with a smile. A prototype earbud can detect facial expressions and convert them into smartphone controls, like answering a phone call when you wink or launching Wikipedia when you open your mouth. It could be used by people with impaired movement or as a hands-free tool for drivers. "We're not trying to replace current input methods, just complement them," says Denys Matthies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research in Rostock, Germany. You're not always able to take your phone out of your pocket or look down at the screen, but might still like to be able to pause your music or pick up a call, he says.