For Your Ears Only
That whispering in your ear may be coming from Woody Norris. His company's HyperSonic Sound system can aim a narrow beam that only you can hear.

When Woody Norris talks, people listen. Well, some people do -- only the ones he's aiming at. Norris is Chairman of American Technology Corporation of San Diego, which despite its bland name is developing some very exciting technology.

Recently ATC's HyperSonic sound system has caught people's ears, selectively. HyperSonic is like a spotlight of sound, a system that can focus sound to an astonishingly narrow beam: 5-6 inches wide at a range of 150 yards. That's narrow enough that another person 2 feet away hears nothing, but with a targeted listener hears sound so clear it sounds like it's coming from inside his head.

In addition to opening up possibilities for VERY private audio (hey, we can think of ways a music museum could use this thing!), retailers could narrowly target pitches and sales to selected individuals, and machinery operators could receive crucial warnings through the din.

There are military applications as well:  high intensity sound could send warning messages from a safe distance.  And if the warnings aren't enough? Hmmmm.... (Wasn't there a Kate Bush song about that idea?)

Rivals include AudioSpotlight, a technology developed at MIT's Media Lab. Apparently the rivalry is bitter. We hope that they keep their arguments confined to a narrow beam between them. 

Learn more at the ATC (HyperSonic) web site.

Learn more at the Holosonics (AudioSpotlight) web site.

Subscribers to Business Week can read more in their Feb. 17, 2003 coverage