Tech

Futuristic audio technology will beam music directly to your head

New futuristic audio technology developed in Israel allows music to be played in a personā€™s head without any hź¦šeadphones or wires.

Noveto Systems is launching its new desktop device — the SoundBeamer 1.0 — on Friday, promising customers the chance to listen to music, watch TV and play computer games with little chance of disturbing anyone else.

The product works by using something called ā€œsound beaming.ā€ It employs a 3-D sensing module that first locates and then tracks the earšŸ’¦ā€™s position and uses ultrasonic waves to send audio to the listener, creating sound pockets around their ears.

While sound beaming is not new, Noveto has createdšŸ» the first branded consumer item to employ the tech and has plans to unveil a ā€œsmaller, sexierā€ version of the prototype in time for ChristšŸ’™mas 2021.

This week, buyers will have the option of using a traditional stereoą¹Š sound, which will hit both ears evenly, or a 3-D option that creates a 360 degree audšŸ’«io experience that envelopes the listener, the company said.

ā€œThe listening sensation is straight out of a sci-fi movie. The 3-D sound is so close it feelšŸ“s like itā€™s inside your ears while also in front, above and behindšŸŒŸ them,ā€ the after a recent demo.

ā€œThe demo inclź¦¬udes nature video clips of swans on a lake, bees buzzing and a babbling brook, where the listener feels completely šŸ»transported into the scene.ā€

Somehow, the device knows which ą“œears to target and follows the listener wherever they go without the need to give directions.

ā€œMost peošŸ…°ple just say, ā€˜Wow, I really donā€™t believe it,ā€™ā€ said šŸŒSoundBeamer product manager Ayana Wallwater.

ā€œYou donā€™t believe it becausešŸ’ it sounds likešŸŽ a speaker, but no one else can hear it ā€¦ itā€™s supporting you and youā€™re in the middle of everything. Itā€™s happening around you,ā€ she continued.

ā€œYou donā€™t need to tell the device where you are. Itā€™s not streaming to oš’€°ne exact placeā€¦ It follows you wherever you go. So itā€™s personally for you ā€” follows you, plays what you wšŸŒŗant inside your head.ā€

The most others in the room could hear is a ā€œlittle bitā€ of sound, Wallwater explained, but ā€œyou donā€™t gešŸ·t the volume.ā€

ā€œThis is what we dream of,ā€ the product manager added. ā€œA world where we get the sound you want. You donā€™t need to disturb others andāœ… others donā€™t get disturbed by your sound. But you can still interact with them.ā€

Because the device is šŸŽheadphone-free, the listener can still hear other things going on in the room.

An illustration of the the SoundBeamer 1.0.
An illustration of the the SoundBeamer 1.0.

Noveto expects the new product to be an earphone-free solution to many of lifeā€™s mundane annoyances. Office workšŸ”Æers can play music or listen to conference calls without bothering their colleagues and people in relationships can blast their favorite Metallica album horror movie with ā™Žlittle chance of disturbing their significant other.

šŸŽThe new tech is so anomalous itā€™s haā™›rd for the companyā€™s CEO to even put into words.

ā€œThe brain doesnā€™t understand what it doesnā€™t know,ā™ˆā€ Christophe Ramstein said.

When he first tršŸ¼ied out the device, he questioned how it was different from other listening experiences.

ā€œI was thinking, ā€˜Yeah, but is it the same with headphones?ā€™ No, because I have the freedom and itā€™s like I have the freedom of doing what I want to do. And I have these sounds playing in my head as there would be something happening here, which šŸ’«is difficult to explain because we have no ršŸ·eference for that,ā€ the CEO said.

His compaš“†red the experišŸ’ence to the first time he tried out an iPod when the sleek listening device was first created in the early-aughts.

ā€œI was like, ā€˜Oh, my God. Whatā€™s that?ā€™ I think sound beaming is something that is as disšŸ¤ŖšŸŒžruptive as that,ā€ Ramstein explained.

ā€œThereā€™s something to be said about it doesź§’nā€™t exist before. Thereā€™s the freedom of using it. And itā€™s really amazing.ā€

With Post wires