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Headset Uses Bone-Conduction Technology
Wired reports that a new headset is on the way to solve all those background noise problems you have had with your cell phone in crowded areas. This new bluetooth headset uses "bone-conduction" technology that converts vibrations from you jaw into sound. The article claims it should be available as early as later this year for around $200.
In Japan for instance:
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http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.2
Only the microphone part utilises vibrations, the sounds are still outputted with standard soundwaves-into-your-eardrum technologies...
No.
The skull acts the same as a loudspeaker's enclosure (or a guitar body) - greatly amplifying low and medium frequency waves (try saying aaaa or mmmmmm with your hand on top of your head).
So if you pick up sound directly from the bone, you'll be recording the sound directly from its source, and background noises would be too weak compared to your own voice (except when a plane flies really low or you are at a really loud rock concert).
That's like putting a microphone inside a loudspeaker. Of course it will record noises, but only really loud ones will be of any significance.
I bought a corded earpiece for my cellphone many years ago which was made by Jabra (http://www.jabra.com) and I believe it worked on the same principle. It had no external microphone and when I talked on it people said it sounded as if I was talking from a landline even when blasting down the freeway under high road and engine noise. The people at the other end had no idea. I loved this earpiece, but sadly I can't seem to find many of these types anymore in a wireless configuration.
I actually have one of these and they work as described.
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In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is usually crucified.
The way I heard it: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is skiing.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
I would say a good 50% of the people posting seem to think the $200 device transmits sound via the bone.
No, it's picking up sound from your skull when you speak - thus a bone MICROPHONE. As far as listening to calls, that still uses a speaker.
That's why sound is so clear - for the person listening to YOU talk, not the other way round.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
What you saw was probably a Neurophone, http://www.csonline.net/bpaddock/nurofone/default. htm ,
by Dr. Patrick Flanagan http://www.phisciences.com/ .
With his old Mark-XII model you could put the transducers on your feet and 'hear' the
voices in your head.
While this articles replies often tivialize the bone/sound phenomon, The way bone affects sound is interesting, and is still used today by skilled ear/nose/throat surgeons to detect tumors.
Where initial diagnosis of acoustic neuroma(tumours on nerves) need to often be made before referral to MRI test, the skilled doctor can actually detect changes in tuning fork pitch, when placed against the skull, when a tumor is present.
In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.