Forget about headphones, new Holoplot technology can stream sound directly to your ears, listen to music without accessories

The world is very noisy. When you walk in the street, you have no choice in having to listen to the harsh sounds of traffic, loudspeakers, etc. You can limit the noise and enjoy the tunes you want with a stylish headset. bulky sound. Is there a way to transmit the sound to the listener without the receiver?

Holoplot, a company in Berlin, Germany, has developed a technology capable of solving this problem with amazing results. The technology uses 3D beamforming technology (like on AirPods) and intelligent algorithms to create a revolutionary audio experience. Holoplot generates separate sound fields at the same time, each with its own content, intensity, phase, and frequency. As a result, multiple people can have different listening experiences in the same room.

Beams of sound waves with different content are aimed at different listening areas

Imagine you could emit a beam of sound waves so narrow that only one person standing in a certain position could hear them. In the demo demo, Holoplot emits two distinct beams of sound waves to two people standing shoulder to shoulder. As a result, each person hears a correspondingly different sound, although there is still a bit of sound spilling over to the person next to you, like when you have your headphones too loud and the person next to you can overhear a bit.

“ We can plan areas in advance so that listeners can hear different sounds as they pass through them – in an amusement park, for example, you can hear animals in this corner and Listen to music from another angle. You walk a few more meters and suddenly find yourself in another dimension – now you can hear the murmur of spring water. Or you can have a tour guide’s voice speak to you personally, explaining what you’re seeing at the show .” – according to Roman Sick, CEO of Holoplot.

How does beamforming work?

This technology has been around for many years and is used in antennas and underwater radars. Recently, this technology has been present in more familiar devices. For example, laptops are often equipped with a combination of microphones arranged in a certain order so that the sound waves coming from the environment sound cancel themselves out and the sound waves coming from the subject reinforce each other. Beam forming is also used in a growing number of speakerphone products including the Apple HomePod, providing the ultimate listening experience.

For example, in an amusement park, you might hear animals in one corner and music in another. You walk a few more meters and suddenly find yourself in another dimension – now you can hear the murmur of spring water.

Sound can be understood as the continuous variation of air pressure in space-time. If you put two speakers close together and emit specially designed signals, you can aim at any point in space and increase the sound pressure at that certain point. The summation of the emitted signal is called “enhanced interference”.

Holoplot technology takes beamforming to the next level. A few years ago, an experiment was carried out at Frankfurt Central Station, Germany’s busiest train station. Passengers descending the elevator suddenly hear clear instructions on where they need to go next. People who were only a few meters away from them didn’t hear anything.

“ The interesting thing is that the listener will not know that not everyone is hearing what they are hearing. They see the sound so clearly that they think everyone hears the same thing. In fact, only selected individuals hear it – others don’t .”

Recently, Holoplot launched the X1 series, loudspeakers for intense entertainment activities from concerts to theme parks. “ You can target different content to different audience groups. Quite suitable if you have many groups of customers using different languages ​​at the same time .”

Targeted listening experience

Listening experience turns to a new page

Beamforming has the potential to take the listening experience to the next level. In the past, sound could spill all around, but now it can be as precise as lasers. Beamforming can work on common speaker systems, and the results are excellent.

In addition to Holoplot, Professor Filippo Fazi, Department of Sound and Signal Processing at the Center for Acoustic Research is also working on a project that offers the possibility of creating different listening experiences in the space of a car using a car. beamforming. “ This capability allows drivers to hear directions while passengers can enjoy their favorite music without disturbing the driver. This can be achieved without placing the speakers in the headrests of each seat. ”

In short, beamforming allowed people to create their own “sound worlds” for the first time without the need for soundproof headphones. “ In the 1980s, the Walkman ushered in a new era of allowing people to bring their favorite music with them. We believe this new technology will bring about the same breakthrough. You can create completely new experiences, some of which we haven’t even thought of yet .”

According to Digital Trends