PHOX Ears: A Parabolic, Head-mounted, Orientable, eXtrasensory Listening Device

Rebecca Kleinberger, Gershon Dublon, Joseph A. Paradiso, and Tod Machover

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

The Electronic Fox Ears helmet is a listening device that changes its wearer's experience of hearing. A pair of head-mounted, independently articulated parabolic microphones and built-in bone conduction transducers allow the wearer to sharply direct their attention to faraway sound sources. Joysticks in each hand control the orientations of the microphones, which are mounted on servo gimbals for precise targeting. Paired with a mobile device, the helmet can function as a specialized, wearable field recording platform. Field recording and ambient sound have long been a part of electronic music; our device extends these practices by drawing on a tradition of wearable technologies and prosthetic art that blur the boundaries of human perception.

Citation:

Rebecca Kleinberger, Gershon Dublon, Joseph A. Paradiso, and Tod Machover. 2015. PHOX Ears: A Parabolic, Head-mounted, Orientable, eXtrasensory Listening Device. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1179106

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{gdublon2015,
 abstract = {The Electronic Fox Ears helmet is a listening device that changes its wearer's experience of hearing. A pair of head-mounted, independently articulated parabolic microphones and built-in bone conduction transducers allow the wearer to sharply direct their attention to faraway sound sources. Joysticks in each hand control the orientations of the microphones, which are mounted on servo gimbals for precise targeting. Paired with a mobile device, the helmet can function as a specialized, wearable field recording platform. Field recording and ambient sound have long been a part of electronic music; our device extends these practices by drawing on a tradition of wearable technologies and prosthetic art that blur the boundaries of human perception. },
 address = {Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA},
 author = {Rebecca Kleinberger and Gershon Dublon and {Joseph A.} Paradiso and Tod Machover},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1179106},
 editor = {Edgar Berdahl and Jesse Allison},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {May},
 pages = {30--31},
 publisher = {Louisiana State University},
 title = {PHOX Ears: A Parabolic, Head-mounted, Orientable, eXtrasensory Listening Device},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2015/nime2015_165.pdf},
 urlsuppl1 = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2015/165/0165-file1.mp4},
 year = {2015}
}