While Ontenna doesn’t allow someone wearing it to actually hear the world around them, it does help to provide a sense of audial world around them. If a song is playing, for example, the device will vibrate to mimic the sound of the music. Or, more practically, if a doorbell or phone rings, it will vibrate to alert the wearer. As the vibrations match accurately to the sound – the sensor has 256 different levels of feedback – Fujitsu says deaf people can use the technology as an alternative way of interacting with the world around them.

But why hair? During early tests of the technology, deaf people said that placing it on the hand felt too “noisy”, according to Takashi Yamamoto, who works for Fujitsu’s advanced systems research and development unit, where the product was developed. Conversely, attaching it to clothes felt too “quiet” – but clipping the plastic device to your hair, felt like a “good interface”.

While at present the device can only react to the rhythm and loudness of a sound – it’ll vibrate harder if someone is shouting and more softly if they are only talking – Fujitsu hopes to develop ways to represent the tone and timbre of audio.

Fujitsu hopes to price the Ontenna around $100, though an exact amount has not yet been released.

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Source: Wired UK
Image credit: James Temperton / WIRED