Easy Listening - Dynamic Ambient Adjustment

Very Near Future:

Dynamic Ambient Adjustment for Portable MP3 players, cellphones, etc.

The problem:

People listen to electronic audio devices in many noisy locations throughout daily life. The noise of their surroundings causes users to turn up the volume, drowning out the ambient noise of the environment (so they can hear their selected audio track) which probably causes hearing loss. Current solutions involve noise cancelling headphones designed to block out ambient sound, which may interfere with the listener’s safety if they block out the sound of approaching danger.

The inspiration:

When human beings speak to each other in a noisy environment, they often alter the pitch they use in order to be better head. The biological solution seems to take advantage of alternate frequencies, and only use a volume increase (shouting) as a last resort.

The solution:

Electronic audio devices will have a microphone to detect ambient frequencies and then software that will optimise audio output to use alternate frequencies to improve audio clarity instead of a volume increase.

Example: You are listening to an audiobook at a quiet bus stop. When you get on the bus the dynamic ambient adjustment will cause the audiobook narrator to switch to a higher speaking pitch to avoid competition with the low rumble of the bus engine.

Music would also be optimised. The music industry will adapt to the technology by making more music with multiple layers of harmonies which could be easily adjusted (by the pruning of certain frequencies) to any ambient environment.

Real-time pitch correction software already exists for singers, so I expect dynamic ambient adjustment will employ similar architecture.

Dynamic Ambient adjustment could be particularly helpful for ensuring that a cellphone owner hears their phone ring in a noisy environment (Christmas shopping at the mall).