Very interesting device being developed for bone conduction through sunglasses.
Posted by Kim Kilpatrick
This article came from a very useful list I am on called LV Ottawa (it is a blind and low vision list for people in Ottawa Canada)
The person who sent it got it from another list.
I paste below.
I can see many interesting ways this could be used by the blind and low vision community.
For people with low vision, they could put their lenses in and have bone conduction head phones and glasses all in one.
For those of us who have light sensitivity and need to wear sunglasses anyway, these would be great.
Enjoy.
Here’s an interesting piece that was on another list I’m on.
Get this through your skull: Ditch the earbuds. That’s more or less the
message from a startup called Buhel, which is aiming to radically change the
way you take calls — from inside your head.
Sound a little crazy? Let me explain.
The company has concocted a pair of Bluetooth 4.0 sunglasses — aptly named
SoundGlasses SGO5 — that pump the sound of music and calls into your inner
ear through your cranium. It’s kind of a head trip.
Buhel says the intra-cranial aural magic happens through the wonders of bone
conduction technology. Small, soft speakers tucked into each lightweight,
polymer arm of the sunglasses (the parts that hug the sides of your head)
let users listen to calls, tunes, videos and more from connected iPhone,
Android and Windows mobile devices through their skulls, hands-free and
ear-free, too.
Without earbuds muffling surrounding sounds, SoundGlasses free users to hear
noises around them. In other words, taking and making phone calls while
driving, biking or running can be a lot easier and, more importantly, safer.
For ski bunnies, Buhel also offers similar ski goggles. They’re called
Speakgoggle G33 Intercoms and they allow you to talk through your nose
bones.
You can’t make this stuff up.
To chat on calls, SoundGlasses wearers need only speak. A bi-directional
noise-cancelling mic embedded in the nose bridge of the shades picks up and
transmits their voices. To place and end calls, Buhel says users simply push
a button on the glasses. The button also controls volume and activates
interaction with Siri and Cortana, Apple’s and Microsoft’s respective voice
assistants.
If you have an eye for fancy lenses, Buhel has you covered. Depending on how
much you spend, you can choose from a variety of scratch-resistant lenses.
Or you can even add your own prescription lenses. The shades’ lithium-ion
battery juices approximately three hours of talk time and recharges via a
USB cable/wall charger combo.
Some obvious questions: How clear will the audio be when vibrated through
your inner ear? And, um, what about cloudy days? You don’t wear sunglasses
in the dark.
Buhel’s parent company Atellani recently launched the high-tech specs on
Kickstarter. The campaign is the company’s second stab on the crowdfunding
platform and has already exceeded its $80,000 funding goal, with 36 days to
go. A set of these bad boys will put you back a pledge of $160. Shipping is
slated to start in May.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242589
GTT Program blog and resources 