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An invisible iPod to beat the muggers
Sarah Getty, Metro23 Oct 2006
Tiny music speakers that fit snugly inside a cap could lower the risk of being robbed of your iPod.
The wireless device transmits sound directly from an MP3 player via bones to the inner ear and would be invisible to other people.
Inventor Reece Myers, 22, came up with the idea after seeing a man being mugged for his personal music system.
'I realised people would be much safer if they could listen to music without others knowing,' he said.
The Discreet Sound System consists of an 2cm-long thin pad that uses bone conductionto transmit sound to the inner ear, in a similar way to hearing aids. The wireless device uses a Bluetooth connection between the pad and the headphone output socket on an iPod.
The wearer can still hear other noises because there are no earphones blocking the eardrum. Tiny microphones in the device monitor external noise and adjust the volume accordingly. Paul Turnock, design director at Brunel University, said: 'Given the numbers of people using MP3 players, the design could be a big hit.'
Reader views (1)
This is clearly a copy of the Swimp3 device altered to fit a hat.
Reece Myers should invent somthing thats not already being sold around the world.
- Alex Jackson, United Kingdom, 23/10/2006 14:09
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