[Noisebridge-discuss] a follow-on to TV-B-Gone?

[bandit]

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/-8216silence-gun-leaves-talkers-speechless-8212-literally/10536?tag=nl.e550

'Silence gun' leaves talkers speechless — literally

By Tuan C. Nguyen | March 6, 2012, 6:44 AM PST


Wish you can silence that annoying person yapping off on a cell phone? Now
scientists have figured out a way to make it happen with a mere push of a
button.

With a device called the Speechjammer, users can mute even the loudest
talkers. Deactivating someone’s voice without their consent is some
serious stuff. But the silence gun doesn’t cause any physical harm nor
alters the person’s voice in any way. Instead, it operates on a phenomenon
called delayed auditory feedback wherein an attached microphone picks up
the speech and plays it back with a delay of 200 milliseconds. The echo
effect causes the person’s brain to become so disoriented that it
literally shuts down the region responsible for speech.

"This effect can disturb people without any physical discomfort, and
disappears immediately [after] the speaking stops, " wrote the researchers
in a report. "Furthermore, this effect does not involve anyone but the
speaker. It is expected that the negative aspects of speech
can be relaxed
by the ability to jam remote people’s speech."

The inventors, however, don’t plan to patent the technology because it’s
relatively simple and there’s almost certain that some company will come
out with market-ready product. And to demonstrate how such a device can
come in handy, they recently released video that the silence gun can be
used to ensure people can study in libraries without being disturbed or to
put a stop to that endless mindnumbing lecture (although I’m sure they
were just being a bit cheeky).

Still, I can imagine it’s also the kind of technology some people would
use on themselves just for kicks.



-- 
bandit at cruzio.com
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bandit.name

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