SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
New Technology Uses Lasers to Transmit Audible Messages to Specific People
Researchers have demonstrated that a laser can transmit an audible message to a person without any type of receiver equipment. The ability to send highly targeted audio signals over the air could be used to communicate across noisy rooms or warn individuals of a dangerous situation such as an active shooter.It is the first system that uses lasers that are fully safe for the eyes and skin to localize an audible signal to a particular person in any setting.
[...] The new approaches are based on the photoacoustic effect, which occurs when a material forms sound waves after absorbing light. In this case, the researchers used water vapor in the air to absorb light and create sound.
"This can work even in relatively dry conditions because there is almost always a little water in the air, especially around people," said Wynn. "We found that we don't need a lot of water if we use a laser wavelength that is very strongly absorbed by water. This was key because the stronger absorption leads to more sound."
One of the new sound transmission methods grew from a technique called dynamic photoacoustic spectroscopy (DPAS), which the researchers previously developed for chemical detection. In the earlier work, they discovered that scanning, or sweeping, a laser beam at the speed of sound could improve chemical detection.
"The speed of sound is a very special speed at which to work," said Ryan M. Sullenberger, first author of the paper. "In this new paper, we show that sweeping a laser beam at the speed of sound at a wavelength absorbed by water can be used as an efficient way to create sound."
For the DPAS-related approach, the researchers change the length of the laser sweeps to encode different frequencies, or audible pitches, in the light. One unique aspect of this laser sweeping technique is that the signal can only be heard at a certain distance from the transmitter. This means that a message could be sent to an individual, rather than everyone who crosses the beam of light. It also opens the possibility of targeting a message to multiple individuals.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 28 2019, @09:09PM (16 children)
Can't wait 'til some marketing numbnuts suggests using this in stores
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday January 28 2019, @09:32PM (7 children)
Maybe it could be used in a theater or home theater setting. Target multiple people with an array of lasers. That could also hurt CAM piracy (as if we cared).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Snow on Monday January 28 2019, @09:37PM (5 children)
Sir, would you like audio as well with your movie ticket purchase? The base ticket is video only, but for an extra $4 we'll beam the audio directly to you. HD audio is $6.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday January 28 2019, @09:49PM
I want the "fuck me up fam" 150 dB ticket.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 28 2019, @10:07PM (3 children)
Who the fuck even goes to a movie theater any more ?
Smart people have their own home theater and they spend the money on this because the experience is FAR more pleasant than sitting in a theater seat which might have lice or bedbugs, and other theater goers feel free to text while the movie is under way, like the lowlife mannerless pieces of garbage they are.
It must suck to be poor and stupid. Correction, it DOES suck to be poor and stupid. And for those so afflicted, the movie theater "experience" is perfect.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 28 2019, @10:31PM (2 children)
Some people for their own reasons may enjoy those raunchy aspects of it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 28 2019, @11:32PM (1 child)
Never pass up a chance to shed a few bedbugs my old grammy always said...
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday January 29 2019, @12:38AM
I know quite a lot of programmers claim to enjoy debugging but this is ridiculous!
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Monday January 28 2019, @10:17PM
Weird how that laser gets absorbed only at destination, but is silent and nobody hears it on the way there, ain't it?
Also, don't look into the laser with your remaining unboiled eye, most of it is water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Monday January 28 2019, @09:57PM (7 children)
Or the RIAA starts demanding a fee be attached to pay for "piracy".
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday January 28 2019, @10:03PM (6 children)
Maybe we can add a laser-based barcode reader. Just have a little barcode tattooed on your ear lobe that gets scanned to check your digital permissions level. Then you get the music beamed in (screechy public domain violin if you didn't pay up).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Monday January 28 2019, @10:23PM (3 children)
More ads if you don't pay...
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday January 28 2019, @11:15PM
Brilliant! We don't even need content that way, just start everybody out at the "complimentary 24/7 ads" level, and let them pay increasing amounts for every hour of silence they desire!
(Score: 1) by mmarujo on Tuesday January 29 2019, @12:03PM (1 child)
FTFY.
It seams only paying customers are afected by it...
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday January 29 2019, @11:12PM
Only a temporary oversight...
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Monday January 28 2019, @11:05PM (1 child)
It would have to be tattooed inside the ear canal, otherwise people could photograph and reproduce it. The bonus is the extra profits the recording industry would make from users' regular ear syringings to ensure it's not obscured by excessive wax. To reduce overheads these "syringings" could even be done by the lasers as well. Just crank up the ol' gain and you're good to go! CAUTION: May cause permanent hearing loss. Not suitable for children under 80.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 3, Touché) by MostCynical on Monday January 28 2019, @11:29PM
Pardon?
Also, turn up the power enough and you ould burn a muh deeper hole...(oops?)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex