Sound Bubbles, Not Earbuds: Inside Penn State's 'Virtual Headset' Breakthrough
Headphones. A device that people tend to have staunch opinions on, as every ear is different and every person finds different styles comfortable, not to mention different styles suit different media and settings. I've tried a lot of different styles over the years, and I've still yet to find a perfect pair. It's a quest that many people go through. Add the sheer range of models and costs, and the search becomes even more complex, though thankfully most don't need the high-end gear reserved for audiophiles or specific professional roles.
It's exactly these kinds of universal challenges—the fit, the comfort, the sound quality—that keep engineers constantly pushing the boundaries of audio technology, looking for the next big thing.
Want to see the tech in action? Click here to watch a video demonstrating the audible enclaves.
Picking up on that universal headphone challenge, researchers at Penn State might just be onto something big for personal audio. Alexis Gajewski, senior editor at Plant Services, recently reported that a team spearheaded by Professor Yun Jing has engineered what they've dubbed "audible enclaves." Think of it as creating precise, contained sound bubbles just for your ears, letting you listen privately without broadcasting your audio to everyone around you—potentially sidestepping the comfort and fit issues.
While this tech seems similar to the personal audio tech that some smart glasses feature, Penn's research is a significantly more advanced approach. Smart glasses typically use open-ear speakers built into the arms of the glasses that direct the sound near the ear using Bluetooth and a fairly simple acoustic design.
The real ingenuity lies in how these "audible enclaves" are formed. The system emits two separate ultrasonic beams; individually, they're completely inaudible. However, when these beams intersect at a meticulously calculated point in space, they interact and generate sound that is audible right there. If you're standing at that intersection, you hear the audio clearly. Step just slightly away, and you're met with silence.
"We essentially created a virtual headset," explained Jia-Xin "Jay" Zhong, a postdoctoral scholar and first author of the study. The technology has already demonstrated impressive capabilities, successfully transmitting sound about one meter away at a volume equivalent to normal speech.
» Read the full blog post: Goodbye Headphones. Hello Audible Enclaves.
Fun Innovations Friday
Created by the editors of New Equipment Digest and Plant Services, Fun Innovations Friday is a feel-good blog that showcases how advances in science, math, engineering, and technology are making our world more whimsical. Here's another post that's guaranteed to brighten your day.
Industry 4.0 Meets Pizza: Fiero's AI-Driven Solution for Pizzerias
Fiero's three-step system is revolutionizing pizza production with technology that stretches dough like human hands, streamlines topping application, and delivers stone-baked perfection—all while tackling the industry's biggest challenges.
