Technabob » acoustics

Acoustic Alarm Concept Gently Plucks You Out of Bed

Lambert Varias — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:02:17 +0000

Many of the alarm clocks we’ve featured have creative or sometimes plain cruel ways of forcing people out of bed. They may be effective at waking you up, but they’re also bound to leave you pissed off, which is obviously not a great way to start the day. That’s why designer Jamie McMahon thought of the Acoustic Alarm.

Instead of ear-splitting bells or buzzing sounds, the Acoustic Alarm has a rotating pick that plucks four guitar strings. The alarm time is set via two knobs – one for the hour and another for the minute. And just like a guitar, you can tune the strings to create your own alarm.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Oddly enough, the thing I like most about the Acoustic Alarm is that it doesn’t look like an alarm clock and more like something you can play with. But as for the sounds that it produces, I quickly realized while I was watching the video that you can reproduce or record the exact same sounds either from an actual guitar or a digital instrument, and then just play the recording as your alarm sound. Problem solved.

[via Jamie McMahon via Neatorama]

Transducer Network of Silence: Mit Engineers Working on Sound Masking Tech

Lambert Varias — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:35:54 +0000

MIT engineers Joe Paradiso and Yasuhiro Ono want to patent what they’re calling “Distributed Acoustic Conversation Shielding”. Yup, it’s like Get Smart’s Cone of Silence, except that it actually works. I hope. Paradiso and Ono’s acoustic shielding makes use of a network of transducers – speakers and sensors – that can distinguish the people having a conversation from those who might be eavesdropping. The transducers then cast white noise and other sounds towards the (potential) eavesdroppers, creating a “subtle masking sound at just the right level.”

However, the technology is more like a Room of Silence, in that it requires the room to be shielded to be fitted with speakers, sensors, microphones and circuitry. In other words, the shielding will most likely be ridiculously expensive. Guess the rest of us will have to stick to murmuring by the office cooler.

[via New Scientist via The Raw Feed, image via Would You Believe]

Cheap Foldable Noise Canceling Headphones [Such a Deal]

Lambert Varias — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:20:42 +0000

A few months ago my friend’s globetrotting father bought a pair Bose noise canceling headphones. The reason: he felt compelled to buy one after sharing one too many plane rides with Bose-wearing businessmen. Too bad he didn’t wait for these headphones from Ableplanet, because right now they are dirt-cheap.

How cheap? Vernons over at devicepedia says that they sell for $99. Compared to its $349 Bose counterpart then that’s already a Good Deal right? Well I have a Better Deal. Actually it’s Costco that has the Better Deal: $49.99, shipping & handling included. Noise not included. The offer’s good until December 7 only so get on the ‘net and order it right now!