Designer Rocco Giovannoni has developed a patent-pending audio technology that uses liquid and gels to create an omnidirectional and vibrotactile sound experience.
Called Inmergo, the new audio technology expands upon bone conduction and its capabilities.
“Bone conduction has recently become popular thanks to devices which let the user hear outer sounds while listening to music, at the expense of sound quality,” said Giovannoni. “I believe these are wasting an opportunity for a technology that has the potential of improving the music quality of common earphones and headphones which are limited by the physical nature or air as a sound medium.”
An Inmergo headphone is composed of waterproof speakers inside semi-spherical containers that are filled with liquid and sealed with soft silicon menbrane.
Giovannoni states that Inmergo provides the best listening experiance for those with hearing loss as it is able to bypass the outer and middle ear and deliver higher frequencies when compared to traditional bone conduction transducers.
“The immersive omni-directionality relies on the difficulty of the brain to locate sounds into other fluids,” explained Giovannoni. “The greater efficiency in bass response is enhanced by the lower viscosity of water in combination of waterproof dynamic drivers.”
“Compared to traditional earphones and headphones it delivers bass frequencies much more efficiently by reaching 20Hz, the limit of human hearing for only 5£ of equipment which is impossible in air,” added Giovannoni. “The omnidirectionality and haptic bass feedback, possible with low power, give an unique feeling and quality to music. Compared to other existing devices availing of bone conduction audio exciters it has been described as of a better quality, more immersive, spacial or crudling.”
