Smart Headphone to alert pedestrians of danger

A group of researchers from the Columbia University are testing the ‘smart’ headphones system. A prototype has been built to warn the pedestrians of dangers on the road. The headphone is designed with a miniature microphones and intelligent signal processing that detects vehicle approaching and alert the users through audio. The headphone uses ultra-low power with a custom integrated circuit which uses minimum battery.

The smart headphone project was awarded $1.2 million grant from the US National Science Foundation in 2017. The researchers of the smart headphones are looking forward to successfully launch it by 2021. The stipulated year has not been announced to when the smart headphones will be available in India.

Looking at the number of road accidents in India, study says that the second most reason for accidents is usage of headphones while riding. The increase in number of headphone users while driving has made the companies in business to introduce noise cancellation headphones which in turn has reduced the focus of the one driving to concentrate on the road. These smart headphones will let people listen to their music while driving as well as indicate them of danger.