boneconducting
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Microsoft's navigation tech for the blind is now an app
Microsoft has been working on its 3D soundscape technology for years. In 2014 it developed a bone-conducting headset to help visually impaired people navigate around cities using audio cues, and now that technology is available in app form, allowing users to pinpoint their location and identify areas of interest using only their phones and a stereo headset.
These wireless bone-conducting headphones let you listen while you listen
Kickstarter, it's a funny old place. A weird soup of real ingenuity and beermat ideas. Headbones might initially sound like it'll fall in the latter camp, but you'd be wrong. Once you know they're bone conducting headphones, the name reveals its clever twist. Yes, you may have seen bone conducting buds before, but Damson audio (who already makes related products) has added a few neat features that make Headbones worth a look. Headbones (we just like saying it now) are Bluetooth enabled, and have a 3.5mm passthrough, so you can add "wireless" to existing buds too, should you so desire. A built in microphone means Headbones works as a hands-free for your phone, and it's estimated you can natter/listen for 10 hours per charge. Damson hopes the sporty crew will like these, and bendy ear hooks and an IPX5 water resistant rating means that they should. As you can see from the photo, we got to check a prototype in person, so we know they're real (and they work!). The ingenious part? a special soundproofing technology means Headbones can run at higher volume without irritating audio leak -- happy you, happy people around you. We'll say it one last time: Headbones.
AfterShokz to debut 'world's first' bone-conducting Bluez headphones at CES 2013
At first glance, you might think the guy in the photo above is wearing his sunglasses backwards. However, he's actually getting hiz groove on with the AfterShokz Bluez, a pair of Bluetooth headphones that transmits audio using bone conduction. We've seen the technology before, but never on stereo wireless headsets. Instead of vibrating your eardrums, the Bluez use transducer pads that sit on your cheekbones to send audio directly to your ears. As such, the headphones have an "open-ear" design, presumably to let you hear your surroundings while listening to tunez. If this zoundz intriguing, you can pre-order them for $100 (despite their $129 retail price) from the company's website, or just wait until January when they will make their official debut at CES 2013.
Aquapulse heart rate monitor finally ships, misses out on Michael Phelps fervor
It's not often that a product takes two full years to go from announced to shipped, but such is the case with Finis' Aquapulse. For those who weren't exactly paying attention in April of 2009, the aforementioned company busted out a head-mounted device that relies on an Infrared sensor to monitor heart rate via your earlobe. Said rate is then communicated to you in real time through bone conduction technology. Naturally, it's fully capable of heading underwater for swimmers and heavy sweaters, but is understanding just how hard your hardest working muscle is working worth $149.99 to you? Hit the source link once you've made up your mind.
SoundBite dental hearing aid receives European approval
We've already seen the principle of bone conduction be applied to headphones, but Sonitus Medical is taking the idea to a whole new level with its SoundBite dental hearing aid, which has just received the necessary European CE Mark certification (it already has FDA approval). As you can probably surmise, the device is a hearing aid that's placed on your teeth, although it's not actually implanted or attached in any way -- it's simply custom fitted to the person's upper back teeth. The other part of the package is a more standard-type hearing aid unit that's worn behind the ear, which processes and wirelessly transmits to the device in your mouth. That's obviously not intended for cases when a simple hearing aid will do, but Sonitus says the system can help people who are "essentially deaf" in one ear regain their spatial hearing ability.
Augmented reality TagCandy creates a virtual taste explosion (video)
The majority of augmented reality applications these days may be visual ones, but that's hardly the only type of augmented reality possible, as fully evidenced by this so-called TagCandy device built by Yasuaki Kakehi of Keio University. As you can see above, it consists of a rather large base that accommodates a regular lollipop, which not only makes it easy to hold the candy, but uses bone-conduction technology to produce different sounds ranging from fizzy soda to fireworks. Of course, it is just a concept, and still something of a work in progress -- future possibilities apparently include the ability to detect biting in addition to sucking, and the ability to buy and share different "sensations" on the internet. Head on past the break to check it out on video.
FINIS AquaPulse monitors, communicates heart rate to swimmers
Now that every kid on planet Earth is attempting to mimic the once-heroic Michael Phelps, it's only fair to equip them with the very best in training tools. FINIS, the same firm that's been cranking out bone conducting underwater MP3 players for years on end, has finally branched out a bit with the introduction of the AquaPulse. By utilizing an Infrared sensor, the device -- which straps onto one's goggles and rests on the temple bone -- can continually monitor heart rate and communicate it audibly to the swimmer via bone conduction in customizable intervals. Unfortunately, FINIS didn't think to integrate music playback into this for moments when it's not dishing out vitals, but you could also rock one of its dedicated music players on the non-dominant ear. Olympians-to-be can catch it this May for $139.99. Full release is after the break.
Outi bone-conducting headphones actually look reasonable
We've seen quite a few bone-conducting headphones, and apart from a couple pricey exceptions, they've all brought the ugly pretty fierce -- enough so that we were actually surprised when we saw these new Outi headshakers from Zelco and didn't immediately flinch. The active headphones clip onto the back of your ears and transmit sound through the skin and cartilage, creating what the company calls a "sensual new surround sound." We're not exactly sure what that means, but it's generated by a battery-powered amp that runs for six to eight hours on a 90-minute charge, and it's yours now $110 in limited quantities.[Via Popular Mechanics]
TEAC's bone conducting HP-F100 headphones
TEAC's latest headphones may not sport the sexiest of designs, but the HP-F100s do tout the always-fun bone conducting abilities. Aside from delivering frequencies from 25Hz to 25kHz, the phones also come with a "personal amplifier" (shown after the break) that cranks out .76-watts to each channel, and will reportedly last around 10-hours without needing another cell. Additionally, the foldable earphones weigh in at about 120-grams, and while the "aerial vibration" won't exactly rattle your skull, it could make your listening a bit more full nonetheless. Of course, we don't expect these to land on US shores without a little help from your favorite importer, but you can reportedly snag these later this month in Japan for a stiff ¥52,500 ($440).[Via Impress]
