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Targeted Sound Beams
Mr_Kcleen writes: "Wired has a story on using sound beams targeted to only one person. They discuss various uses, from musical performances to possible weaponization." This is another one of those ideas that are right around the corner, really, honest.
I only hope that this won't be adopted by RIAA.
People who like this sort of sig will find this the sort of sig they like.
i hope that explains those voices that keep telling me to horde my precious bodily fluids.
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The New York Times is also covering the article (free reg) or you could just go to The Audio Spotlight's home page for a more detailed account of their technology.
every day, technology brings us a little bit closer to being able to make our younger siblings think that they've gone insane :D
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Pompei's website hase more detailed information of this here: http://web.media.mit.edu/~pompei/spotlight/ here is a brief description from the site. Technology: Because it is impossible to generate extremely narrow beams of audible sound without extremely large loudspeaker arrays, we instead generate the sound indirectly, using the nonlinearity of the air to convert a narrow beam of ultrasound into a highly directive, audible beam of sound. The device transmits a narrow beam of ultrasound (blue), which, due to the inherent nonlinearity of the air itself, distorts (changes shape) very slightly as it travels. This distortion creates, along with new ultrasonic frequencies, audible artifacts (green) which can be mathematically predicted, and therefore controlled. By constructing the proper ultrasonic beam, this nonlinearity can be used to create, within the beam itself, an audible sound beam containing any sound desired. This is presently done in real-time using low cost circuitry, a specially designed amplifier, and transducers developed at MIT specifically for this project.
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
I saw a demonstration of this technology a few years ago at Epcot center, during the Discover Magazine Awards for Technological Innovation. The demonstrator held this paddle-like device with an array of metallic discs on it, and as he turned it slowly across the crowd, you'd not hear a thing until it was pointed at you. Very cool :)
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From the article: Pompei imagined that instead of loudspeakers blaring the same cacophony of instruments to all parts of the room, it would be more interesting to selectively spotlight the soloist to the left side of the audience, while featuring the percussion up front, and then switching them around.
But when I go to a concert, I want to hear all the instruments - without having to move around the room.
Also, I get the impression that current tests are being carried out in silent environments with few obstacles. In a concert, you'd have to crank up the volume of such a 'sound spotlight' in order to hear it over the 'general' sound system. And in a crowded hall, the sound from the beam would be reflected more. This would cause the sound generated by the spotlight to 'leak' out of the beam area, making it less effective.
And (also important in a concert) the audio engineer can't hear what he's doing with the spotlights, making it very hard to get right.
This might be a bad idea, since tons of other people would be pointing the same device at the poor beer man. The beer man would be overloaded with requests and ultimately crack under the sonic pressure. Insanity by sonic buffer overflow...what a way to go. =)
-Cyc
/.'s 10 Millionth
Yes, we hear sound in 3d...sort of.
For the most part, (with a few exceptions), most humans are only able to distinguish thing in front of them from things behind them, and its quite easy to prove that we can't guage distance from sound (because we don't know how loud it was at the point source).
However, anyone can train to improve their selective listening skills and achieve more 3d awareness. Its quite a common skill among conductors, musicians, and most of all sound technicians.
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There are many more applications of this technology than the article lists:
Multi-lingual Movie Theaters:
Push a button on your arm rest and get the movie in English, French, Spanish, etc. (or in the original Klingon). Pushing the "G-Rated" button on your child's seat would tune out all those nasty 4-letter words (although visual violence and sex would remain on screen). You could also control the volume from whisper to bone-rattling.
Spot sound cancelation:
Lots of uses for this one. Create quiet zones by coupling with sound cancelation techniques. Imagine being able to punch the "Cone of Silence" (CoS) button in your office when your co-workers are getting a little loud or you need to really concentrate. You could also listen to your favorite music without wearing headphones or disturbing your cube-mate. This would be particularly useful for airplanes. You could engage your CoS when you want to get some rest or simply to block out the airplane noise. The pilot could engage everyone's CoS to nudge people into staying in their seat (if they get up, they get the loud airplane noises again). Or how about for good neighbor relations- are your neighbors complaining that your dog Sparky is keeping them up all night with his barking? Just install the BarkStop(TM) system in your back yard and put the tracking collar on him. All his barking gets muffled. It also acts as an invisible sonic fence to keep him inside the yard.
Super Surround-Sound Home Theater:
DVD's could contain extra sound encoding information to paint the viewing space with individual sounds. All of the sounds in the movie would come from a 3D location in space. This is similar to what the conductor in the article wanted to do.
Point-To-Point Smart Intercom:
Rig an office building with locator ID badges, tracking microphones, and sound projectors. Now you can tap your badge ala ST:TNG and speak to anyone in the building in total privacy. Rig it into the phone system and you can talk to anyone out of the office via their cell phone or in another office building a continent away.
Thrill rides and haunted houses:
Structure the experience by controlling sound location, volume, etc. Easy to make "ghosts" follow behind you, chains rattling above, and so on. Heighten the experience by using selectively transmiting magic frequencies that induce unease and nervousness.
And of course practical jokes:
Echoing footsteps, sqeaky shoes, body sounds, etc. Use your imagination.
The possibilites are almost unlimited. It is funny that what the DOD really wants out of this is a classic SFish Sonic Disruptor.
What I really want out of it is a Sonic Screwdriver.
I.V.
"These laws they're passing won't even compile anymore, let alone execute." - anon
Theyre called "Low riders".
Theyre used mainly by inner-city minorities and retarded white kids who find the cul-de-sac an inappropriate place to express their blackness.
Ever get the feeling that all that bass is being used to compensate for not being held enough as children?
Cheers,
Bowie J. Poag
Want to learn something interesting? Look up "voice to skull" technology. I have managed to find direct evidence (via government websites) of both the United States and Austrailia researching this technology. Patents exist, and can be looked up. The technology is real, as has been known about for a few decades.
It looks like the tin-foil hat kooks may be right.
Two systems exist:
1. Audio over ultrasonic carrier - essentially uses the skull to filter the ultrasonic carrier wave - at that point it is simple bone conduction.
2. Audio over microwave carrier - this one is more "advanced" - it uses frequencies in the microwave region as the carrier wave for the sound. These waves then stimulate the vestibular region of the brain, which filter out the carrier and leave the sound information behind for the brain directly to figure out - causes strangeness to the recipient - a "voice in the head" type sensation. This form of V2S was first noticed by microwave and radar engineers who would "sense" or "hear" (in their heads) "clicks", "pops" and "whine" type noises as the worked around unsheilded microwave equipment.
Both of these technologies are real, as far as I can figure. Neither is "high quality" - but voice quality only (in fact, the microwave V2S system is actually pretty poor quality - rendering the voices in a "growling" type tone - which could be interpreted as "demons talking"). Both have potential "sinister" applications - neither have the quality of use for anything else.
I wish I was making this up - I haven't found anything that says "impossible" yet - but if someone could look into this with me, and let me know that I am wrong, I would love to see the information...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon