I remember reading the ads in Sharper Image catalogs and thinking that it would be neat to have one of them when I was delivering mail. It was, basically, a portable radio that transmitted sounds to you through your body by vibrating sounds. It apparently didn't work that well because it never caught on. A technology artifact of the 1980s.
But a Panasonic is coming out with a more advanced version:
People who don't want to disturb sleeping family members could use a new product from Panasonic that doesn't need speakers or even your own ears: wireless bone-conduction headphones.
The headphones connect to a TV via the Bluetooth wireless standard and attach to your head like a normal set of headphones. But instead of using your ears, the headphones work like hearing aids by transmitting sound waves through your skull.
They are one of several innovations Panasonic unveiled at the International CES show in Las Vegas. It also showed off a new user interface for its "Smart Viera" TVs, featuring a TV-mounted camera that recognizes the user and sets viewing preferences accordingly.
The Japanese electronics maker also showed off an easy way to send YouTube videos from smartphones to the TV.
I'm guessing that if successful the technology can expand to other audio devices besides TV.
Comments