Ultrasonic Speakers: Directional Sound Technology Explained

Elijah discovers a fascinating directional speaker that creates private listening zones using ultrasonic audio waves.

### Ultrasonic Audio Waves: The Future of Directional Sound Technology
* 🔊  The Oddly Model B speaker uses ultrasonic audio waves to create a **directional speaker** that offers a **private listening experience without headphones**.
* 👂  Ultrasonic waves are normally inaudible to humans, but by modulating them, the speaker **encodes audible sound within ultrasonic frequencies**.
* 🎯  The speaker creates a **relatively focused cone of sound**, with a **15° spread**, allowing for a **headphone-like experience** within a specific area.
* 🏞️  By bouncing off flat surfaces, the sound can create **illusions of coming from different directions**, making it ideal for creative applications like haunted houses.
* 🌐  Commercial installations, showrooms, museums, and digital signage are some of the **primary target markets** for this technology.
* 🎮  While gamers might find it liberating, the high cost makes it more suitable for **commercial rather than personal use**.
* 🚀  Oddly, the maker of this speaker, is working on **cost reduction**, but DIY versions are already available online for those interested in **experimenting**.
* 👂  The speaker's ultrasonic frequencies can be **uncomfortable for some individuals and animals**, and they are **easily blocked by obstacles**.

it's the weirdest thing. Elijah, can you hear this speaker? Yeah, I can hear it somehow. My microphone picks up nothing right next to it, but Elijah can hear it from down the road. Now, sound waves are always directional to a degree, but this thing is on a whole other level. Perhaps magic? Spoiler, no. The oddly model B uses ultrasonic audio waves, which you normally can't hear, and adds some special sauce to create a directional speaker that's designed to create a private listening zone, giving the user a headphone-like experience. Is that something people are asking for, and what are we giving up in return? Also, are there any fun, creative ways we could use this technology? Not sure, a few things, and yes, but before I tell you about them, Elijah needs to tell you about our sponsor. Hey there, you are Ridge. Upgrade your everyday carry with a Ridge wallet. Their new Ridge lights are just as functional and even more compact than before. Use our link and save 10% off your purchase and get free shipping with code Lonus to help you guys experience how

cool. This thing is we've set it up on a lazy Susan in an open area of our warehouse. Then all you got to do is pop on a pair of headphones and you'll be able to hear exactly what we hear with the help of our friend Steve Elijah hit [Music]. It that is so weird. It sounds like it's in the one ear and then it sounds like it's inside my skull and then the other ear and then it's gone and then because we've got flat surfaces here in the warehouse it actually bounces off of some of them and sounds like it's coming from completely different places. Now alongside the greatest song of all time you might have heard a slight buzzing or interference or Dropout sound. That's because the microphones are picking up some of those ultrasonic frequencies that I mentioned earlier but to most human ears it sounds as clear as any other speaker you'd find at the local Best Buy. How does this work and what makes it different from a traditional speaker in a traditional

speaker two things contribute to the audio that you hear: the amplitude, or how hard the speaker pushes against the air around it, determines how loud it is; and the frequency, which is how many of these cycles it completes per second, contributes to the pitch. Sound energy travels in waves, just like ripples in a body of water, meaning that when you make sound, anybody nearby can hear. Baby, no money, forget that melody. Now we can focus or aim it to a degree [Music], but because the wavelengths of audible sound are so long, the waves can travel through solid objects and even bend around corners. That's why I can hear this speaker pretty well from behind it. That's why these speakers use ultrasonic transducers instead, and I can practically hear you guys shouting lus. Humans can't hear ultrasonic frequencies; that's what makes them ultrasonic. And you're right, we can't. But thanks to some math that I don't understand now and probably never will, we can alter the amplitude and can modulate our

ultrasonic transducer array to encode audible sound within ultrasonic sound. Now, it took decades and the development of sophisticated computer simulations to go from the original theory to this point, but now that we're here, it flipping works. And because ultrasonic waves have much shorter wavelengths, they spread out far less, creating a relatively focused cone of audible sound. It's still about 15°, meaning that at a great enough distance, multiple people can hear it, but the effect in person is really trippy, not to mention a lot of fun. I'm in a position where it should be hard for anyone in the lab to see me, and I'm going to start up a Wan show. I thought someone was talking. I thought then I'm going to beam it around the warehouse and see what happens next. Target Logistics. I don't even know what this plastic is here for. It's clearly to prevent peep. Bad actors like you. Elijah's bringing a knife so we can control Logistics. Now we're going to

point it through the plastic. But first, we got to troll Elijah so confused. I can see Jamie. Okay, we're going to go for Jamie. We're going to go for Jamie. Okay, where the how they all find us immediately. Dang it. How'd you guys find us so fast? I heard through it earlier. Oh, dang it. Well, you win some, you lose some. Still a lot of fun. If we were smart and we really wanted to throw people off, though, we would use the effect where it bounces off of flat surfaces, creating a really weird effect where it sounds like it's coming from the Reflection Point rather than from the location of the speaker. Let me show you what I mean. Okay, Elijah, I'm straight at you. Yep, I hear it there, right there. Okay, what if I bounce it more times? I hear it right about there. Yeah, and it's super trippy. If I did not see you, I would think it's coming from the wall. Pretty wild, right? I mean, you'd think after a bounce or two, it would sound a lot farther away, but

ultrasonic waves don't attenuate nearly the way that audible waves do. So, whether I'm 10 ft away or 100 ft away, bouncing once or four times, it sounds really similar. The question now is, how far can we go? Well, based on what they saw in the intro, you're going to have to go a lot further than that, buddy. Alrighty, poor Elijah, he's getting his steps in today, boys. Most exercise I've done all year. How about now? Yeah, I can still hear it. How about now? No, I don't hear it. Oh, okay. How about if I aim it at you? It sounds the exact same. I hear it totally fine. Okay, keep going. Oh, oh my goodness. It's crazy to me how it's been sounding almost the exact same volume the whole way. How about now? I can still hear it. That is wild. We'll keep going a little bit more. Very faintly, but I can still hear it. That is very cool. We're almost at the end of our parking lot. Yeah, you can still hear it. I can

still hear it, yeah, and Andy can hear it from back there still. Oh yeah, going, there's a car in the way, but we are from end to end on the parking lot. Here's the Google Maps image to show you how far we are. Uh, let's see if I can still hear it. Do you hear it, Andy? I hear the truck. You might as well come back. Oh my God, this is freaking hilarious. They're standing in that corner with all those cars around them, and I'm kind of moving it around a little bit. It's got to sound like it's coming from like freaking everywhere. There was a split moment where all the way at the end of the parking lot, I heard like one or two notes at that distance. The issue you're running into is lining it up. Not even that, you can hear it anymore. That is super cool, but ultrasonic waves do have a downside. They get blocked very easily. You can see I'm sitting here chilling, listening to music. All I got to do is put this piece of

paper in front of it and H. And there's more. Remember that sound jammer that we bought on AliExpress? In theory, it can be deployed stealthily, but in practice, we found that people with sensitive hearing—sorry, sorry, sorry—can pick up those high frequencies. And because those ultrasonic frequencies need to be very high amplitude for the encoding to work, meaning they're very loud, it can create an uncomfortable feeling for some people and especially some animals. With all that cool how does it work stuff out of the way, what are these even for? I mean, I guess as a gamer, having a personal private listening cone without needing to wear anything on my head would be kind of liberating, but at this price? Yeah, it's more for commercial installations, you know, showrooms, museums, and the like. So you can step in front of an interesting piece, learn more about it, available now at LTT store.com, and when you're done, you walk away and the audio is gone. With a cleverly designed gallery, including soft surfaces to minimize reflections, you can offer a pretty

engaging experience for your customers or patrons. Oddly, the makers of this particular speaker focus on digital signage and advertising, but they also highlight some pretty creative uses, like this one integration in a playground haunted house. Pretty spooky. What's really cool is Oddly is working on cutting the costs, but if you don't want to wait, there's actually tons of videos online showing people building these speakers for themselves, including this one guy who actually made it look like a little gun to point at a target. I don't know, it's kind of cute, just like this cute segue to our sponsor. Thanks to Corsair for sponsoring this episode. Corsair Custom Lab allows you to create a gaming setup as unique as you are. Start with a product like their K65 Plus wireless keyboard and select from a variety of different themed keycaps to match your style. From there, you can add a mouse and a mouse pad to complete the look. Corsair handles all the heavy lifting for you. Just make your custom creation, and they'll build it and ship.

it right to you learn more at the link in the video description. If you guys did enjoy this video, go check out the recording Jammer video. That one was super cool as well and helped cover up some hot takes that lonus had.

Only 1 Person in the World Can Hear this Speaker

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Linus Tech Tips

The Unique Technology of Directional Speakers

The oddly model B uses ultrasonic audio waves to create a directional speaker, providing a private listening zone.

The speaker's unique design gives users a headphone-like experience, while also causing sound to bounce off flat surfaces for a varied auditory perception.

The technology's effectiveness is demonstrated by its ability to create clear sound for the listener, despite the microphone picking up interference from the ultrasonic frequencies.

The Science of Sound and Ultrasonic Waves

Sound is produced by a speaker's amplitude and frequency, which determine its loudness and pitch.

Audible sound waves can travel through solid objects and bend around corners, while ultrasonic waves, which humans can't hear, have shorter wavelengths and can be used to encode audible sound.

The use of ultrasonic transducers has allowed for a focused cone of audible sound, creating a unique and immersive listening experience.

The speaker uses ultrasonic waves to confuse friends by bouncing the sound off flat surfaces, creating a trippy effect.

Despite the distance and number of bounces, the sound remains similar in volume, challenging the perception of its location.

The experiment demonstrates the unique properties of ultrasonic waves, allowing them to be heard clearly even from far away.

The Use and Impact of Ultrasonic Waves for Audio

Ultrasonic waves can create a unique audio experience, allowing sounds to be heard from various distances in a parking lot.

However, these waves are easily blocked and can cause discomfort for individuals and animals due to their high amplitude.

The technology is primarily used for commercial installations, offering a private listening experience without the need for headphones.

Creative Uses of Digital Signage Speakers

The makers of a unique speaker focus on digital signage and advertising, with creative uses like integration in a haunted house.

They are working on cutting costs, but there are many online videos showing people building similar speakers themselves.

The episode is sponsored by Corsair Custom Lab, which offers personalized gaming setups.