Acoustruments: A Way To Control Your Phone Using the Sound It Emits

Myriad tech companies are working constantly to escalate the mobile and tablet world, while Disney research lab in partnership with Carneige Mellon, has created something unique and new to control mobiles using sound of their own speakers. Sounds weird?

Actually, these are plastic accessories called Acoustruments. Each Acoustrument is imbibed with a U-shaped tube that feeds ultrasonic sounds from the phone’s speaker to its microphone. Thus, you can control the mobile with this setup by disrupting the sound, say, as you do on a flute- by blocking the holes on the tube. But not necessarily you need to have holes on the tube, you can buttons, switches, knobs, wheels, sliders or anything such that can alter the sound wave to give indications. Simply it works like- push a button, the pathway for air changes and the tone changes accordingly. The phone detects the tone and reacts accordingly.

However, the researchers have already developed Acoustruments – one integrated with a phone case which acts as a camera shutter, one which acts as an alarm controller, another that can turn a phone into a toy car and one that can transform your phone into an interactive doll. Sounds weirder?

 

The researchers believe that these accessories can prove to be momentous when you don’t have access to touchscreen, as in the case when you’re using your phone as a virtual reality device. Interestingly, they can interact with your device without any power source or any sort of connection.

Although, it is not expected to see these accessories in stores very soon, yet the good part of the news is that the manufacturing of these accessories is cheap and thereby, their cost will be lesser.

Surely, the thought behind Acoustruments is very different but at the same time, it doesn’t sound too interesting or attractive when the world is already brimming with gadgets and techs that manage your phone better.

Voice your opinion regarding Acoustruments through comments.

For more tech updates and scientific wonders, keep reading fossBytes.

Recommended:
Disney makes a 3D printer that prints soft toys.
Yahoo’s Bodyprint lets you control your phones using your ears.

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