What is a directional sound system and will it replace headphones?

Imagine lying at home or drivingin the car, and your favorite music sounds in your ears. But your head is completely free: there are no squeezing and ever-falling headphones. Music is simply broadcast directly to the ears and the surrounding people do not hear it. This technology already exists, and it was created in the 1980s. So-called directional sound system is suspended from the ceilinga speaker that is surrounded by a plastic dome. Sound waves are reflected from the inner surface of the dome and only reach the person who sits directly under the speaker - the others do not hear anything. The disadvantage of this system is that to listen to music you need to sit strictly in one place, you cannot walk. But the Israeli company Noveto was able to make sure that sounds accompany a person even in motion. So what is it, soon we will say goodbye to headphones?

In the future, listening to sounds will become even more convenient and private

How does a directional sound system work?

As mentioned, the first directionalsound appeared in the 1980s. The design was very primitive, so a new version was created a decade later. It used ultrasound, the sound range of which was not audible to the human ear. But sound waves in the air are nonlinear and at a certain distance audible frequencies still appear. So, by sitting a person a little further away from the speakers, the same effect could be achieved. But, again, the technology only worked if the person remained stationary.

The essence of a 1980s directional sound system goes something like this

Technology has been improved by an Israeli companyNoveto, which presented the results of its work at CES 2019. It has equipped the directional sound system with 3D sensors that can track a person's location in space. Based on this data, the system knows in which direction and at what angle the ultrasonic waves should be directed so that a person can catch the audible range of sounds. At the same time, the rest of the people do not hear anything, but you can configure the system so that different music is broadcast to the ears of different people.

Office workers will surely like Noveto technology

See also: What does sound consist of?

Cons of directional sound

The Noveto system does not require a personsat in one place. But it also has a number of important disadvantages. First, when turning the head, sound waves sometimes cannot reach the second ear and the sound is partially lost. Secondly, the sound quality leaves much to be desired, because distortions appear every now and then in music and there is clearly not enough low frequencies. The technology is still under development and the developers assure that problems will be eliminated in the future. The system is expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2021. It would be interesting to watch reviews or evaluate the system's performance on your own experience.

CNBC Noveto System Review

But the most interesting thing about the Noveto system will beimplemented in cars. The company has already struck a deal with Spanish automaker SEAT. Most likely, in upcoming car updates, passengers will be able to listen to music without headphones, without disturbing the driver. Directional speakers may also appear in Hyundai and KIA vehicles. Thanks to them, the driver, for example, will be able to listen to the instructions of the navigator, the passenger next to him can enjoy loud music, and the people behind him can watch movies. And no one will interfere with each other.

The most interesting thing would be to evaluate the work of Noveto in cars

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But it's too early to throw away the headphones.As cool as it all sounds, directional sound technology is still at a very early stage of development. And it is unlikely to be able to use it outdoors, because the user must be surrounded by 3D sensors that track his location. The cost of installing the system is still unknown, but it will clearly be expensive. Indeed, in addition to the speakers themselves, you will need to install sensors.