When the announcement of this product came out, it really caught my attention. After all, I am a bit of a nut when it comes to new audio technology. As soon as something like this is announced, I want to know what it is, how exactly does it work, and most of all, what it’s not.
It was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show 2022, in January, and the promise was to produce a holographic beam of sound, from ultrasound, directed towards the ears of the target, with maximum loudness, but without bothering anybody else around them. A similar technology has been in use for shaping the directionality of transmission antennas in wireless systems, so it seemed perfectly viable, and according to some people who actually witnessed the show, it actually worked.
Unfortunately, to get a product on the market, lots of things have to happen after the first prototype validates the proof of concept. According to THIS ARTICLE, the Noveto N1 will never see the light of day. The company, Noveto Systems has declared bankruptcy, even though they managed to gather a quarter million dollars in pre-orders through their Kickstarter campaign.
It’s a shame, we will have to continue to wear headphones for now.