From Oct/02 NACS..Dig That Hypersonic Sound
October 31, 2002
NEW YORK - Hypersonic transmitters, which emit sound in a focused beam similar to a laser, should hit the market this fall.
Popular Science reports that the transmitters provide audio quality comparable or better than that produced by compact discs.
Hypersonic sound, or HSS, creates "directional audio" that makes it seem as if listeners are hearing the sound inside their heads. Hypersonic transmitters generate sound at a frequency of more than 20,000 cycles per second so that it stays in a focused beam beyond the perception of human hearing. Air causes the waves to divide into three other frequencies-one that is audible to the human ear. It is that frequency that gets inside people's heads.
The sound at that perceptible frequency can go 150 yards without distorting or losing volume and has many applications for targeted advertising. For example, Popular Science hypothesizes that it could be used by cereal manufacturers to send targeted promotions to grocery-store shoppers standing in front of their products.
Other possible applications include using HSS to create "sound bullets" to use as nonlethal weapons and speakerphones that won't be audible to nearby co-workers.
One manufacturer of hypersonic transmitters, American Technology, held a conference call on Tuesday to discuss the new technology. The company is concentrating on certain markets, including arcades, vending and ATM machines, kiosks, and cars.
The company's client list already includes McDonalds, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and about 30 other businesses ranging from defense to television networks. |
