If you like to listen to music from your earpiece while jogging or cycling, it is easy to get so engrossed in what you are doing that you do not pay much attention to your surroundings. A lot of pedestrians have died or sustained serious injuries because they were putting on headsets and could not notice that automobiles were approaching them. We propose the use of headsets that are equipped with proximity sensors to solve this problem. The user is notified by a vibrating earpiece whenever an object comes close to him. The notification is more aggressive if the object approaching the user is moving fast.
Earpieces with ambient mode (a mode where the sounds in your environment are relayed to your ears and played along with your music) can be used to reduce the user's risk but they are not very effective since the music easily distracts you from the relayed sound. This type of earpiece will not keep the user from colliding with cyclists or other people.
The proximity sensor can also improve one's safety when one is walking alone at night. It can notify you when someone is sneaking up on you.