The good part? Thanks to some smart noise-cancelling tech, you will soon be able to confidently speak in public about your game-changing startup idea without having to worry that other people are listening in. The bad part? The Tom Hardy persona you will resemble is Bane, the Batman antagonist from 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
“We have created the world’s first voice mask for smartphones, called Hushme,” CEO Roman Sakun told Digital Trends. “Hushme is a Bluetooth hands-free device, with the additional features of voice masking. You connect it to your mobile and can listen to a music or use as a traditional hands-free, but if you are in open space office and need to make a private call, you just put it on and speak. Due to insulating materials, your voice is decreased by 60 percent in ‘passive’ mode, and [people at a distance of three feet cannot] understand what are you speaking about. If you are in a crowded noisy place like a railway station or airport, then you can use ‘active’ mode and get almost 100 percent privacy.”
In this ‘active’ mode, the Hushme employs the same voice-dampening insulating technology, but also utilizes speakers on the outside of the device to generate masking sounds. In place of hearing you read out your credit card details or reveal top secret business plans, eavesdroppers will be treated to sounds like wind, ocean, or falling stones, all of which will be cleverly mixed with your voice. People receiving the phone calls will reportedly hear your voice as normal.
It’s certainly an innovative concept, and despite its attention-grabbing look, Sakun says there is plenty of demand for the product.
“It’s a little bit of an unusual thing, but very useful — and that’s really what people need in offices or on the go, when you need privacy,” he continued. Possible use-cases include everything from gamers who want to use voice chat at night without disturbing friends or family to the aforementioned business person on the move.
If you want to get hold of a Hushme unit, you can currently place a pre-order on Kickstarter, where units cost $189. Shipping is set for December.
