Ever since Zeon took a hammer to my boombox, I haven't been able to rock out to my favorite New Kids on the Block tunes at work. Aisen Caro Chacin's invention may prove to be an acceptable alternative. Her tongue-controlled MP3 player uses the palate to carry sound to the ears:
She embedded a vibrating motor connected to the headphone jack of an MP3 player inside a mould of her mouth, with the player's controls facing downwards so they could be manipulated with the tongue. The vibration of the motor was strong enough for her to hear the music through her skull, though controlling the MP3 player with her tongue proved more difficult. If the music is loud enough, the palate acts as a resonator and others nearby can hear sound coming from the wearer's mouth.
Link -via Popular Science | Photo: Aisen Caro Chacin
Such an old idea
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Actually, it's her teeth, not her palate that act as the resonator, transferring the sound via bone conduction to the cochleae.
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Hopefully an updated version will include a jack for external speakers.
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Oof, looks mighty uncomfortable. I'm not sure that thing will supplant the ubiquitous white iPod earbuds...
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