Waterproof MP3 Player Uses Bone Conduction

An anonymous reader writes "Aquatic training product manufacturer Finis has just released a waterproof digital music portable for swimmers and surfers that claims to solve a problem with such devices in the water. Regular earphones don't work well because they need an uninterrupted air channel to function. What makes the SwiMP3 unique is that it uses bone conduction to stimulate the inner ear and deliver sound."

Comments

The only painful bit.

[Amiga Lover]

The only painful bit is getting the 3.5mm jack inserted into the back of your skull.

Re:The only painful bit.

[FlopEJoe]

How does this affect the radio wave blocking abilities of my tin foil hat?

But how deep?

[se2schul]

Cool, but how deep will it go? Can I bring it on a 300' deep scuba dive to entertain me during hours of long decompression stops?

Re:But how deep?

[RangerRick98]

Gizmodo pointed out that they didn't mention any depth information in their press release, so it probably isn't designed for diving.

Not new

[WhatsAProGingrass]

This may be new to the MP3 world, but this method is nothingnew.

"The BAHA is a surgically implantable system for treatment of hearing loss that works through direct bone conduction. It has been used since 1977, and was cleared by the FDA in 1996 as a treatment for conductive and mixed hearing losses in the United States. In 2002, the FDA approved its use for the treatment of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss." from here

Re:Not new

[cyberlotnet]

It's a new use of technologies
It a mp3 player viable where it never was before
It doesnt invovle implanting
So while it may not be "new tech" it is "New and innovating use of that tech in an area it has never been used before"
Next thing you know your going to say parents shouldn't get excited about having a baby because millions of people have them every day, its just another lifeform in the world nothing else.

Great distraction!

[grub]

Oh to be a shark. The meat is much more tender without fear-induced adrenaline pumped into it.

Re:Great distraction!

[Negatyfus]

Great! Now I can finally experience a shark attack with the Jaws theme playing in the background!

I'm sorry...

[Short Circuit]

But the mental picture of an iPod sitting in a fish tank conducting an orchestra with a bone is just...odd.

Frequency response?

[ByteSlicer]

Does anybody here know the frequency response of cheek bone? I would expect it to filter high frequencies.

Re:Frequency response?

[RealProgrammer]

African or European?

Re:Frequency response?

[Gaewyn L Knight]

You have obviously never had a root canal and crown put on.

*cringes*

It looks weird, but

[Megaweapon]

I wonder if it would also work in generally loud (and not underwater) areas where you don't want to block some sounds with regular earphones.

Re:It looks weird, but

[Big Nothing]

Police and military units have used bone conducting equipment for quite some time for this particular reason; it doesn't block external sound, it works in noisy environments and it prevents eavesdropping.

This particular product, however, seems (from the pictures in TFA) to be placed in front of the ears, and would therefore block external sounds. It might meet the two other criterion, though.

Re:It looks weird, but

[tindur]

And does listening to this harm your ear like normal earphones or would this be a better alternative for those who like to listen to loud music?

How does it sound

[OglinTatas]

How does it deal with the accoustics of bone instead of air? In my head, my voice sounds like a sexy baritone, but when I hear my voice in voicemail, it sounds tinny and whiney. My point is that sounds coming through the air sound a whole lot different than sounds that resonate in your head.

Re:How does it sound

[VivianC]

In my head, my voice sounds like a sexy baritone, but when I hear my voice in voicemail, it sounds tinny and whiney.

Maybe you need a better voicemail system...

Creepy sounds in my head!

[RocketRainbow]

No really, I'm serious! This is why speakers are so much more popular than headphones: the sound appears to be coming from somewhere! With good headphones, you can still get a reasonable effect (My sennheisers make it seem like the music is right there at the outside of my ears, which is just where I like it) but with direct stimulation it's just not pleasant to have directionless noise coming from outta nowhere!

This is just another example of...

[igrp]

... military technology eventually being used in civilian applications. The SEALs have used bone conduction for a while now. And according to the Navy Wire Service this technology has already been transfered to other fields, namely, to be used by emergency response personell. So this is just the next step...

Bone conduction is actually a pretty good idea: the ear drum is too close to the density of the water to stop any sound wave when in immersion. The bones are hard enough to stop the fast sound waves though. Basically the bones from the neck and skull resonate and carry the vibrations.

All the Tri-Geeks will have one of these...

[RobL3]

I belong to a very rare subset of Geek known as the Tri-Geek. Guide to spotting the Tri-Geek - bike on car cost more than car, Wetsuit hanging in cube, funny tan lines, %10 body fat, empty Gu packs lying around instead of coffie cups and... an obsesive compulsive need to have the best, coolest, newest equipment available. I WILL have one of these! I don't care if it only holds 16 megs, they're going to sell a ton to people just like me. Now I'm off to find the credit card I hid from myself...

This is NOT unique!

[Systems Curmudgeon]

A product that was poorly marketed in the late 1970's was called the "Bone Phone." It was a walkman-style audio player intended for runners, and you heard the music through your bones (no earpiece). I believe it was invented by a Princetonian. If any patents are claimed on this, there is prior art! - systems curmudgeon, AKA: The Precision Blogger http://precision-blogging.blogspot.com

IDEA NOT NEW

[gp310ad]

Bone Fone is a 70's example employing acoustic conduction through the body as opposed to the evolutionary air to ear route.

WW-II AT&T 'throat microphone' also made use of 'conductued' sound and it was common for early (20's) radio operators to place their headphones on skull or jaw behind ears rather than over ears. This afforded some degree of 'automatic volume control', protected them from loud static crashes, and made it easier to discern a weak signal when near a strong one.

Back when I swam a lot we puT speakers inside plastic bags and hung them ver the side of the pool. It was OK when both ears were under water but not practical for listening while swimming. Combined with speakers above the water it wasn't much better. Swimming is pretty noisy and indoor pool acoustics generally suck.

Music in my head?

[palad1]

I'll first have to ask Frank if he doesn't mind the company in there.

MGS

[accelleron]

Colonel: Snake! Can you hear me?
Snake: I tried so hard... in the end... doesn't really matter...
Colonel: Snake?
Snake: I had to fall... lose it all...
Colonel: Who the f**k gave him an MP3 player?!
Naomi: err...

possibilities for hearing impaired?

[CrudPuppy]

I wonder about the possibilities of this technology for certain types of hearing impairment.

my bone-conduction hearing is far better than my air-conduction hearing in tests. they could be onto something here...

Re:possibilities for hearing impaired?

[Mattcelt]

If the cochlear bones are damaged, then even bone-conduction won't help with hearing, because it is those three bones that do the actual conversion of air pressure to electrical signals that the brain can decode as sound. Without those specific bones to do the conversion, doing bone conduction is no more useful than, say, holding your fingers up to a person's throat while they're speaking and feeling the vibrations they're making. While it's a useful thing in certain circumstances (and therefore an idea not totally without merit), it's nowhere near the same as true hearing.

Sorry to burst your bubble! Rest assured that it took me a looong time when I was young to understand that my grandmother (whose was deaf from birth) could feel sound, but couldn't hear it.

medical issues?

[ifnkovhgroghprm]

I've seen a bunch of devices lately that transmit signals through the body in various ways. This one uses your bones to transmit audio. I'm wondering if they've done enough analysis to see what kinds of medical problems might pop up after prolonged use of this device. I wouldn't want rapid onset of osteoporosis to occur because of an MP3 player...

Still not new

[poptones]

Twenty years ago a company that ran ads in all the gadget magazines offered a "bone fone." It was marketed most directly to skiers as a means of listening to their music while skiing without having to muck with earphones and cables.

Even ignoring the potential problems for folks with inner ear troubles who want to dive (the music via bone conduction could contribute further toward disorientation and dizziness from such problems) the sound via this method sucked then, I suspect it will still suck now. There's a great step from "Wow I was deaf and now am able to hear!" to "...and I want to pay money to listen to lo-fi music through this thing while I'm diving (or any other time) because...?"

I have a pretty messed up right ear and I am a terrible swimmer, but even still I love the water. One of the things I love most is the difference in sound between out of the water and underwater. Why would anyone want to interrupt that rare peace with noise from the terrestrial world?

Re:Still not new

[FrankHaynes]

I couldn't agree more!

The sound perceived by bone conduction is typically lo-fidelity, mostly the lows and mid-range frequencies are heard, but the highs are basically non-existant.

Despite the fact that when most people say 'mp3' these days they expect us to think 'music' (or even 'pirated music'!), I see this as a potential boon to Masters swimming instructors. I will soon be joining a Masters swim team simply to improve my breathing technique and to learn how to turn, and from what I have seen it seems pretty silly to have the instructor screaming at the top of his lungs for the few milliseconds that a swimmer's ear is above the surface while taking a breath.

This device could allow the instructor to issue guidance and instructions pretty much full-time to an immersed swimmer. Now THAT would be a practical and useful application.

As for surfing (the REAL kind of surfing where you get wet, not sitting on your fat ass browsing web pages), I know that Craig, Topher, Buddy, Beaker, and Vax would miss my various renditions that I sing while we're out in the lineup waiting for a waves, so I'll pass on this device for that application. Besides, it's healthier to be able to hear the maladjusted sociopath who is threatening you for surfing "his break".