This wearable microphone keeps the volume down, but at what cost?

No-one can hear you scream in the mutalk. That’s because it purportedly lowers your voice by around -30 dB, making it nice and quiet – as if your mouth weren’t emitting any sound at all.

There’s a long-running joke that virtual reality is kinda like headphones for your eyes, and now thanks to Shiftall – the creator of mutalk – there are headphones for your mouth as well. This is great news for gamers (like me) who love staying up late playing online games with buds, or public transit commuters who want to talk on the phone without irritating nearby passengers, or people who simply don’t want their private conversations overheard.

Designer: Ken Omae and Takuma Iwasa (via Shiftall)

If you want to see the mutalk in action for yourself, this demo is extremely convincing:

Granted, this VR headset-shaped microphone may not be the comfiest-looking fit at first glance. It almost looks like a torture device, but that’s admittedly part of the appeal. There’s an element of humor in watching someone voluntarily place a muzzle over their mouth to get some privacy in public, though there’s a cost-benefit equation to be had: is the added privacy worth the risk of stares and comments from onlookers?

In any case, the $200 asking price is easily worth being able to speak on the phone or communicate in online games late at night – away from prying eyes, mind you – without risking waking up roommates or family members, or evoking the wrath of neighbors.

The mutalk is also just a solid wireless microphone on its own merit, thanks to a robust array of features. Shiftall promises up to eight hours of battery life, only one hour of charge time, and a secure-looking strap system to easily put the mutalk on and take it off. It connects to client devices via Bluetooth 5.1 or 3.5mm AUX, and charges via a single USB-C cable. There’s even a mute button, which comes handy if you need to shout expletives in the middle of a conversation or game match, but don’t want anyone – online or offline – to hear you. It also has comfortable-looking foam padding to let the microphone sit comfortably over your mouth and nose.

Shiftall first released the mutalk in Japan, where it’s had a strong reception, selling “thousands of units” according to a press release in June 2023. Now that it’s finally available in the USA for $200, it may be worth picking up as a holiday gift for your favorite gamer – or, someone who you want to ask to be quieter without making them feel bad.

The post This wearable microphone keeps the volume down, but at what cost? first appeared on Yanko Design.

This smart face-mask auto-translates languages as you speak!

Wear the C-Face Mask and you aren’t just granted clean, purified air… you also get the power to talk in multiple languages! Designed by Japan-based Donut Robotics, the C-Face mask is a universal mask-cover that fits on top of your standard face mask. Switch it on, and the C-Face mask connects to your smartphone, giving you a wide variety of smart features. Not only does it enable you to answer calls and talk to people without holding your phone’s mouthpiece near your mouth, it auto converts speech to text, allowing you to reply to messages, verbally type out emails, or ask your smartphone’s voice AI queries without having to take off your mask and talk to it. Currently, the C-Face even possesses the ability to translate between Japanese and 8 other languages, but multi-language support is merely an app update away!

As unusual as its design brief sounds, the C-Face mask actually has quite a few really noteworthy benefits. Firstly, since the mask is fitted with its own dedicated microphone, you can speak into your phone without needing to take your mask off. Pair this with the smartphone’s voice-to-text feature and you can talk to other people just by showing them messages on your phone. The voice-to-text feature even means less unnecessary touching of your smartphone’s screen to type out messages. Just say what you need and the dedicated app converts speech into text that you can copy and paste in messages, chat boxes, or mail drafts. The app even possesses the ability to auto-translate between a total of 9 languages, allowing you to seamlessly communicate with people regardless of language barriers. It’s almost as if the C-Face gives you the ability to speak in multiple dialects!

The C-Face mask will begin shipping to buyers/backers in Japan as early as September with more units being shipped to USA, Europe, and China in the coming months. The silicone mask comes with its own battery that provides hours of use on a single charge. It retrofits directly on top of any standard face-mask, allowing you to upgrade your current cloth mask into a smart-mask that works with your phone!

Designer: Donut Robotics

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