New Tech Sends Sound That Bends, Targeting Just One Person In A Crowd

No earbuds. No speaker. No problem. Engineers at Penn State have unveiled a groundbreaking technology called “audible enclaves” — a system that allows sound to bend, delivering it directly to one person in a shared space, without disturbing others nearby.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the Penn State College of Engineering used high-frequency sound waves and precisely engineered acoustic materials to carve out invisible sound bubbles that only one person can hear. It works without requiring the listener to wear anything at all--no headphones or earphones.

At the core of the system are two nonlinear ultrasonic beams, engineered to intersect at a specific location. That intersection point becomes the “audible enclave” — a tiny region where the inaudible ultrasonic waves transform into a clearly audible sound.

"We use two ultrasound transducers paired with an acoustic metasurface, which emit self-bending beams that intersect at a certain point,” Yun Jing, acoustics professor at Penn State and the lead researcher, explained in a press release.

“The person standing at that point can hear sound, while anyone standing nearby would not. This creates a privacy barrier between people for private listening.”

These beams aren’t just pointed straight ahead — they curve like sound-seeking arrows thanks to the help of 3D-printed acoustic metasurfaces, which bend sound paths with millimeter-scale structures. The result? A whisper of music or spoken words that can navigate around objects to land exactly where intended.

Goodbye Headphones, Hello Privacy

What sets this apart from other directional sound systems like parametric speakers is its precision and privacy. Most existing systems broadcast sound along a beam, which can still bleed into nearby areas. Audible enclaves create true auditory zones, much like whispering directly into someone’s ear from across the room.

The idea of selective sound isn’t entirely new, but this method’s accuracy and obstacle-handling set a new bar. While similar to how noise-canceling tech silences the unwanted, audible enclaves do the inverse: delivering just what’s needed, exactly where it’s needed.

The potential applications of this new technology are vast. Think private audio tours at museums, tailored music in shared offices, or even vehicle navigation instructions that speak only to the driver. The technology may also be a breakthrough for people with auditory sensitivities, offering personalized sound without isolation.

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