Apple patented the headphones, distinguishing people
Makradar Technologies / / December 19, 2019
As stated in the new patent, Apple has invented an unusual cable for headphones. Inside the wire may be multiple sensors that determine the number of people at the same time listening to the sound from a single device.
Such a system of recognition of people allowed to transmit on each earphone your sound. Under normal circumstances, it is not very useful function, but together with other patent such a possibility seems to be quite interesting. Not so long ago, Apple has patented of 3D-technology for displays, allows to broadcast different images to people looking at the screen from different angles. Similar technology has already been in Sony TVs, but has not been widely adopted.
Together with separate headphones on such display could see two videos at once, play in multiplayer mode on the same device, and so on.
Implement recognition of people Apple engineers wanted a simple manner. In their view, if the headphones are too far from each other, most likely, they used two different people. To measure the distance of the cable was enough to put a small sensor that measures the angle between the two radiating wires. More detailed description of such a sensor include measurement using magnets, lasers and others are not the most conventional headphone elements.
Despite the fact that the patent was published only now we developed the technology as early as 2012. With this in mind, we can assume that in the near future to complement their headphones something like Apple is not going to. Indeed, recently the world presented new EarPods, while the idea of separation from the Apple headphones existed for a long time.
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