Manufacturer Turtle Beach unveiled a transparent pane of glass that emits directional audio at last week’s E3 2016 conference in Los Angeles. The latest use of its HyperSound technology could have huge potential in commercial applications including retail and healthcare.
One of the first (if not the first) glass-based directional audio products to hit the market, Turtle Beach
are looking to redefine how we think about the potential of directional audio. Its glass offering has the potential
to be integrated into desktop monitors, displays (such as retail kiosks) and desktop speakers and works similarly to its metal-based
HyperSound Clear 500P product. According to Turtle Beach CEO Juergen Stark “pretty much anywhere there’s glass, there’s a potential
for audio.”
Turtle Beach has applied its HyperSound technology within the glass to create a directional narrow beam of
audio in the air to targeted listeners and deliver an ‘immersive’ experience.
Like touchscreen glass, HyperSound Glass has multiple
layers of transparent materials and electronics working in conjunction with the glass. For HyperSound Glass, the glass pane is layered
with a set of transparent films allowing it to generate a beam of ultrasound that delivers audio to the
listener through Turtle Beach’s digital processing. Low voltage cables are deployed to reduce the overall power consumption of the product.