What if you could listen to your favorite playlist in full clarity without headphones, without disturbing anyone else, and without even lifting a finger? That’s the vision behind a new type of headphone-free music technology being developed at Penn State, and it might just change how we experience audio forever.
The new tech is called Audible Enclave, and it uses ultrasonic sound waves to create focused “pockets” of sound that only you can hear. Using a series of acoustic lenses, or metasurfaces, this system bends ultrasonic beams through the air. When two beams cross, they generate sound only in a small, targeted space. If you’re standing in that space, you’ll hear music. If you’re not, you won’t.
It’s essentially a virtual set of headphones with no additional hardware required. The current prototype of the headphone-free music tech can deliver clear sound at a distance of about one meter. Researchers say it can reach up to speaking volume.
That’s ideal for everyday use cases like watching videos or listening to music from your phone. Unlike traditional headphones, this new technology keeps your ears open to your environment, which is something that has made open-ear headphones much more enticing for many. That makes it easier to stay aware and interact with others while still listening to music or a podcast.
Because nothing is physically worn, this headphone-free music tech could also be game-changing for accessibility. That’s especially true for users with sensory sensitivities or those who find conventional headphones uncomfortable.
Looking ahead, researchers believe they can scale the technology to work across more considerable distances and at higher volumes. That could mean private audio zones in public spaces, concerts with personalized streams, or on-the-go listening without ever plugging in.
Sure, it’s still in early testing at the moment, but if fully realized this tech could revolutionize how we listen to music and interact with audio as a whole. It could also de-isolate the listening experience, making it easier to interact with each other even when enjoying our favorite songs, movies, and other entertainment media.
We’ve seen similar tech used at music venue The Sphere, which allows for the bending of 3D beams of sound to create unique experiences. This new tech, though, goes much deeper by actually changing how our bodies interact with the sound waves, and how they get to our ears in the first place.
