Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Voices in Your Head

Posted by michael on from the buy-lnux-buy-lnux-buy-lnux dept.

ceejayoz writes "MSNBC/Newsweek is running a story about a 'Hypersonic Sound System' that can 'can take an audio signal from virtually any source and convert it to an ultrasonic frequency that can be directed like a beam of light toward a target up to 100 yards away.' Sounds like something that advertisers will love - Minority Report just got a little closer." These guys (and the Audio Spotlight guys) have been hyping this technology for years with nothing much to show from it. But now, Newsweek promises, it's going to change the world as we hear it.

6 of 336 comments (clear)

  1. What if it gets turned up to 11?? by billmaly · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My only concern here is what happens when someone cranks up the amp on this and points it at someone's head at close range? Does it become a sonic bullet, destroying hearing (or worse), or is it limited in it's power by default?

  2. Re:Sonic Guns? by sgtsanity · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This would be about as effective as setting a large speaker on high and setting it up against the wall. The range is the only thing that makes it effective. Far better ways of knocking down a wall would be to amplify the natural resonance of an object, like Tesla did a time or two. It creates a nifty little earthquake effect using a device about as big as an alarm clock.

  3. Newsweek Objectivity by PRickard · · Score: 5, Interesting
    "But now, Newsweek promises, it's going to change the world as we hear it."

    OK, Newsweek has now slipped into the same category as the TV channels that show infomercials 20 hours a day. A couple of weeks ago Newsweek touted Microsoft Palladium as the revolutionary future, now they're saying this sound wave thing will be. How much would it cost me to have Newsweek run a long article about my futuristic world-changing vaporware product that happens to be 8 to 15 years away from actual production? It's worse than biased media, it's buy-your-own-news.

    --

    == Paul Rickard, Editor of The Microsoft Boycott Campaign ====

  4. Prior art by SocialWorm · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Conspiracy buffs have been claiming that the NSA, or scary government organization of your choice, has had technology of this exact sort for several years. I remember reading a "report" on it back in '98 or so. See http://www.angelfire.com/nj/kristinashomepage/soun d.html for a more recent bit on the subject. It has a more insidious use for this technology not mentioned here:
    A person could be tricked into thinking that God is speaking to them, for example. Depending on the targeted person's state of mind, he or she could be manipulated into doing something that he or she would not normally do.
    --
    My Blog: http://nic.dreamhost.com/
  5. Vandalism... by j_kenpo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wow, devices that beam sound directly at me used for advertising... in the past vandalism on billboards were pretty amusing, if not unsightly. If people start to vadalize these devices, say by cracking them with bats so we dont have to hear any unwanted advertisements, Id say vandalism will have taken on a new role, going from destructive to useful.

  6. Re:Have I got a product for you.. by sflanker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think you are missing the point. Retailers have used sound for the purpose of marketing virtually forever. The bell on an ice-cream truck is a good example, or a vendor shouting about they're product in a market. So why doesn't everybody use this? Because in most settings it's annoying, it disturbs everyone in the general area, and it raises the ambient noise in the area.

    Imagine window-shopping in a mall. Now imagine every store constantly broadcasting about they're products loud enough for every one around to hear. All of a sudden this has become a very unpleasant environment. Now image that as you walk passed a particular store, looking at something in the window, and the store whispers to you, just you, about some of the products your seeing. Now you've been advertised to without disturbing all the passersby around you, the ambient noise is the same, and it's targeted marketing: don't yell at every one, talk to the guy who shows some interest. And as other technologies come along, such as face recognition, it can be personalized even further.

    So you go ahead and boast your current audio advertising methods, but they only place they're useful is on an ice-cream truck.