This ‘Muzzle’ Is A Mic That Blocks Eavesdroppers From Hearing You Scream
The days of wondering if your apartment neighbor might be eavesdropping on you may be long gone as a Japanese startup has landed on a new microphone that mutes your voice.
The company, Shiftall, is banking on the hopes that people won’t mind strapping a muzzle-like box to their faces in the search for a way to talk without being heard by anyone, and for crystal-clear audio recording.
The ‘mutalk’ is designed to fit snuggly against its wearer’s mouth and chin. It comes with adjustable straps that can be attached to a matching set of AR glasses.
When first placed in a wearer’s mouth, it can automatically detect that it is being used. When placed on a flat surface, it will initiate a mute function to prevent unwanted audio from being recorded.
The microphone captures the user’s voice using a cavity within the device that uses air to expand and compress the sound, suppressing their voice from escaping. This technology is known as the Helmholtz resonator principle, and it cleverly prevents noise from leaking out of the mutalk, leaving its owner free to literally scream into the void.
It can reduce high-frequency sounds by up to 30 decibels. The mouthpiece comes with a USB-C port for charging and a 3.5mm jack to be connected to headphones. mutalk also works cross-platform on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android systems.
Shiftall is hoping to bring the gadget to people who live in crowded apartments, allowing them to shout freely as they surge through video games or take calls without nosy neighbors pressing an ear to the wall.
