"Bone-Conducting Headphones" Are a Thing That Exist Now

JaredJones

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Jun 8, 2015
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"Bone-Conducting Headphones" Are a Thing That Exist Now


Say goodbye to bothersome earbuds and bulky Beats by Dre, because a pair of headphones that channels music directly into your skull has been invented. (Brain tumors sold separately.)

Do you ever find yourself listening to your Ipod and wishing you could just cut out the middleman and inject the music directly into your brain? Well thanks to Batband [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ostrich-pillow/batband], that crazy, crazy dream is on the verge of becoming a reality.

A kickstarter project launched at the beginning of the month, Batband has already more than doubled its $150,000 goal with 36 days still left to go.

BATBAND is described as "an elegant piece of sound technology allowing you to listen to your private soundscape as well as the world that surrounds you" by its creators, who praise the headset's "innovative bone conduction system" as the next step forward in hands-free listening devices. The headset also has a microphone for phone calls and recording not unlike the bluetooth listening devices currently on the market.

What is a "bone-conduction system, and how long will it take to nuke my brain from the inside out," you ask? Well, I'll let the creators of Batband fill you in:

BATBAND works via bone conduction, consisting of transducers that emit sound waves perceived by your "private" inner ear, thus freeing your "social" outer ear. Sound waves are transmitted at a frequency that can be conducted through the bones of the skull. Your ears remain free, therefore you get to hear twice as much, without compromising on comfort, quality or style.

3 transducers emitting sound waves are incorporated in the product: two touching the sides of your head (temporal bone) and one at the back of your head (occipital bone). Furthermore, its discreet use means that any vocal content you receive is nearly inaudible to outsiders.

Check out the design art for Batband in the gallery below.

[gallery=4741]

As for my first impression? Well, I think Batband -- like Google glass before it -- seems like a pretty goofy way to cure the most first-worldy of problems. It looks like it would blow right off your head in a stiff breeze, for starters, which isn't even to mention the fact that the creators behind it seem to have a fundamentally flawed understanding of why headphones were invented in the first place (to shut the world *out*). Then again, Batband fits right in line with what we've come to expect from Ostrich Pillow [http://studiobananathings.com/], so I'm sure it'll be a big hit.

Head over to Batband's Kickstarter page [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ostrich-pillow/batband] to learn more/donate.

Source: CNet [http://www.cnet.com/news/batband-may-be-the-goofiest-bone-conduction-headphones-ever/]

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SecondPrize

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Mar 12, 2012
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Well that's neat. Say, do they have a version which doesn't make you look like an asshole whilst wearing them? I ask because I don't want to walk around looking like an asshole.
 
Mar 30, 2010
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You managed to go the entire article without mentioning <a href=http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lobot>Lobot.

I admire your restraint.
 

Aerosteam

Get out while you still can
Sep 22, 2011
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It looks like something you'd wear after receiving a head injury.
 

Hairless Mammoth

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Jan 23, 2013
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This might be good for all those people foolish enough to wear headphone walking or biking next to traffic and railroad tracks, if the audio can't be turned high enough to drown out external sounds. I've heard of a few stories with nasty endings.
 

Pirate Of PC Master race

Rambles about half of the time
Jun 14, 2013
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I have predicted that this would come.... but not this late. Ideas for this device came out decades ago.

Oh well, only thing I can say about it is health issues, namely brain and cranium related health hazard - who can say what can a long exposure could possibly cause?

Edit:
Hairless Mammoth said:
This might be good for all those people foolish enough to wear headphone walking or biking next to traffic and railroad tracks, if the audio can't be turned high enough to drown out external sounds. I've heard of a few stories with nasty endings.
We already do that. No real loss here.
 

-Dragmire-

King over my mind
Mar 29, 2011
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So, is this like a rough version of the MGS Codec for radio communication?

The Codec functions by directly manipulating the small bones in the ears...
Hmmm kinda but kinda not...
 

EndlessSporadic

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May 20, 2009
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You guys seem to fail to realize that this is how modern hearing aids work. This technology would actually allow certain deaf people to hear since it bypasses the ears completely. I wouldn't go passing this off without considering the medical advantages of this technology.
 

vallorn

Tunnel Open, Communication Open.
Nov 18, 2009
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-Dragmire- said:
So, is this like a rough version of the MGS Codec for radio communication?

The Codec functions by directly manipulating the small bones in the ears...
Hmmm kinda but kinda not...
That's exactly where my brain went at first as well. There's definitely a similarity between the MGS Codec and this but it's not quite there yet.
 

Imperioratorex Caprae

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May 15, 2010
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Grouchy Imp said:
You managed to go the entire article without mentioning <a href=http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lobot>Lobot.

I admire your restraint.
I always wondered if there was a person who watched Empire and thought Lobot's look was cool. I have found the answer to that now... Wow. Either that or the creator can't pinpoint the inspiration but it probably was Lobot.
 

Gxas

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Sep 4, 2008
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I'm not allowed to listen to music at work because I have to be able to hear when the machines go down or if someone is trying to talk to me, so this sounds like an outrageously genius invention for someone in my position.

I assume that things like my situation would be why these were made, instead of just for everyday listening.
 

Charli

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Nov 23, 2008
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Huh. That's kind of cool, and kind of less goofy than google glass, I'd wear em.
 

Mike Richards

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When I was a kid I remember there briefly being lollipops that would do this. When you put it in your mouth and pressed a button on the base it would play some generic little song, pretty much just because it could. But honestly it was still pretty cool.

I remember being surprised at how good it sounded for a cheap piece of plastic. I feel like throwing some actual money and design time at the idea would lead to something pretty cool.

EDIT: Yeah, they were called Sound Bites. Prepare for aggressive 90s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CablPKv_9IQ
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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This seems like driving drunk down the wrong side of the street past a police station while blaring Skrillex and tooting a vuvuzela out the window.

I guess what I'm saying is nothing about this sounds like a good idea, even on its own.

-Dragmire- said:
So, is this like a rough version of the MGS Codec for radio communication?

The Codec functions by directly manipulating the small bones in the ears...
Hmmm kinda but kinda not...
The codec is based on technology that's kinda sorta been available for a while. Not exactly the same idea, but pretty close.
Mike Richards said:
When I was a kid I remember there briefly being lollipops that would do this. When you put it in your mouth and pressed a button on the base it would play some generic little song, pretty much just because it could. But honestly it was still pretty cool.

I remember being surprised at how good it sounded for a cheap piece of plastic. I feel like throwing some actual money and design time at the idea would lead to something pretty cool.

EDIT: Yeah, they were called Sound Bites. Prepare for aggressive 90s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CablPKv_9IQ
They've done the same thing with toothbrushes to encourage kids to brush. I think there was even a brand that licensed like, one actual song per brush.

crimson5pheonix said:
It's not surprising, that's basically how bluetooth microphones work.
Err...most Bluetooth microphones are still based on air vibration.

It's pretty much how the throat-based microphones that are employed not only wirelessly but in wired format work, but that has nothing to do with Bluetooth.
 

crimson5pheonix

It took 6 months to read my title.
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Jun 6, 2008
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Something Amyss said:
This seems like driving drunk down the wrong side of the street past a police station while blaring Skrillex and tooting a vuvuzela out the window.

I guess what I'm saying is nothing about this sounds like a good idea, even on its own.

-Dragmire- said:
So, is this like a rough version of the MGS Codec for radio communication?

The Codec functions by directly manipulating the small bones in the ears...
Hmmm kinda but kinda not...
The codec is based on technology that's kinda sorta been available for a while. Not exactly the same idea, but pretty close.
Mike Richards said:
When I was a kid I remember there briefly being lollipops that would do this. When you put it in your mouth and pressed a button on the base it would play some generic little song, pretty much just because it could. But honestly it was still pretty cool.

I remember being surprised at how good it sounded for a cheap piece of plastic. I feel like throwing some actual money and design time at the idea would lead to something pretty cool.

EDIT: Yeah, they were called Sound Bites. Prepare for aggressive 90s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CablPKv_9IQ
They've done the same thing with toothbrushes to encourage kids to brush. I think there was even a brand that licensed like, one actual song per brush.

crimson5pheonix said:
It's not surprising, that's basically how bluetooth microphones work.
Err...most Bluetooth microphones are still based on air vibration.

It's pretty much how the throat-based microphones that are employed not only wirelessly but in wired format work, but that has nothing to do with Bluetooth.
If I remember right, that was at least Jawbone's shtick.