原來耳機不只如此?

耳機顧名思義就是配戴在耳朵上, 發出聲音或訊息給予人們聽覺上的感受, 上天給予人類五官, 眼,耳,鼻,舌,身,作為傳感器官, 佛家提及六識包括眼識, 耳識, 鼻識, 舌識, 身識及意識, 每一種感官均給予生命帶來美好和豐富的感受. 是人與生俱來的偶然, 而不同的感官也會有相輔相承的作用, 好讓不同感受增強和變得更全面和美妙. 一向人類科技在個別的感官感受上作不斷提升,包括視聽上的清晰度,立體感. 真實感。味覺上的食物質素和調製方式等等。

人類被賦予不同的感官, 而不同的感官一般亦能同時間感受六塵, 如果在看事物時同時又有聲音,比單純看事物的感受優勝, 如果再同時加入觸覺觸感,甚至嗅覺, 感受當然更深刻豐富.

例 如在吃東西時, 有味覺享受, 如果嗅到其氣味, 當然相得益彰. 若同時加入音樂讓聽覺配合, 又或者再配合視覺, 又是另一番更美好的享受. 現今不同產業和不同產品的發展,原意就是為了提供顧客或用家更多和更好的感官體驗。

最簡單! 為什麼要到電影院看電影？ 當然不只是為了追女仔, 因為電影院具備好的畫面和聲音, 什麼多聲道杜比效果, 還要在零食店買點零食, 在視聽享受之餘同時提供味覺元素從而加強愉快感受.

假如座位能配合震動, 甚至會發出配合場景的氣味, 那必然是一種夢寐以求的真實體驗, 迪士尼的4D電影, 很早就是這個概念了。

關於聽覺, 聽音樂重播, 看電影, 電視, 電競遊戲皆必然涉及聲音的播放, 聲音給予一個非常重要的感官資訊, 看電影,電視及進行電競遊戲當然更加包括視覺資訊. 上文提到, 有關的產品包括, 屏幕, 揚聲器, 耳機等多年來都只在這兩種感官的表現水平與及質素方面不斷追求和提昇。如, 高清音質, 音色風格, 3D立體聲, VR 聲音，多聲道重播, 高清8k畫質, 更大尺寸的畫面, 3D影像，虛擬實境等, 這個多年來皆好像是行業科技上的金科玉律。

近年, 開始有些個別人士或品牌商會在這些產品嘗試加入不同感官感受的元素，務求把重播世界變得更加現實逼真, 並為直接加強感官同步享受的可能性. 較為直接的就是在影音產品上嘗試加入觸感的元素, 而「震動」功能顯然是一種最為有效直接的觸感功能, 一般可以配合聲音的頻率去發出不同形式和程度的震動. 因為聲音的發生原本是源於震動, 就低頻聲音而言, 它的產生是需要較強幅度的震動,而且相對較慢, 所以有時聽低音會同時感受到一點震動和震撼, 這是一個物理上客觀的現象，所以故意加強震動的觸感, 便會讓聲音的感受更逼真和更能表現出物理世界的原狀.

市場上的產品,原本備有聲音配合「震動」功能的除了一些保健的震動按摩椅, 手機產品, 其次應該就是加入「震動」功能的耳機產品, 而筆者認為加入 ”震動” 4D元素的耳機不但最能增添以住傳統上只有聽覺的單一感官享受，還能具有很多功能上的伸延性, 如配合震動的音頻治療產品，助聽功能耳機等等。
 

“震動”顯然是一種最能配合聲音的觸感元素, 然而要加入其功能, 讓聲音和震動有如天作之合, 工程人員需要花大量的時間去調節和配合不同聲音頻率所引發震動的程度, 不用程度震動給用家的自然度,舒適度和平衡度等測試. 因為震動方式必需要和真實的情況相符才不會有不自然的感受.

帶有震動的耳機在市場上還不算很盛行, 有賴各品牌產加強推動, 衍生更多同類產品, 讓聽音樂,看電影和愛好電競遊戲的用家,帶來更美妙更逼真的感官享受.

筆者偶爾突發奇想, 世上六塵包括, 聲，色，香，味，觸，法, 再想想現今世代最先進的消費類產品 “智能手機. 為何” 智能手機”某程度來說能夠傳遞 “聲””色”及某種”觸”的元素如震動, 但為何還不能傳遞 “香””味”? “法” 當然是一種自發意識和思想, 要完全傳遞還有點難度. 筆者深信這一一都是科學技術水平的問題, 相信總有一天這一一都能實現. 然而從這個想法,就引伸到一種產品應用概念, 一種能觸發和傳遞「氣味」的器件, 用以配合聲音的傳遞, 把不同場景的原有氣味同時在其器件上發出, 刺激嗅覺並讓人有更真實的現場感受. 而耳機產品顯然就是加入其元素的一種想法.

在耳機產品加入聲音識別的功能, 針對某些存在獨特聲音的場景, 配合場景應有的一些氣味, 必然可以為正在看電影或正在進行電競遊戲的耳機用家帶來置身其境的現場感受。

試想當你在看一套電影, 其中一幕槍戰,子彈橫飛,如果配合震撼的音效和震動當然能給用家逼真的聽覺和觸覺感受. 若能在這個場景同時也能嗅得到火藥的氣味, 簡直是置身現場般的感受. 又試想一想, 如果你在進行一場賽車電競遊戲,汽車的馬達聲和震動讓你有如在真實車廂裡的感覺, 當你在控制汽車飄移的時候,你同時嗅到一股車吠摩擦地面所發生的車吠氣味,又或者當你不小心撞了車的時刻,你又嗅到一陣汽油味,這樣的玩意不是很新奇又有趣嗎??

實現如此有趣的5D產品,當然有賴科技的硬件和軟件,包括一些人工智能的算法, 把各種不同目標場景有關的所有聲音, 透過機械學習, 分析當中的特徵並準確地識別出來, 繼而再進行進一步的動作 例如觸發器件並發出那種特定的場景氣味. 讓電競用家或者家庭影院用家得到更豐富和逼真的現場感受.

科技一步一步的進發,引發思想一步一步的革新, 產品的功能從而一步一步優化和一步一步地變得更多元,為人類帶來更方便的生活,更美妙的感受和更全面的享受就是科技結合產品帶來之偉大.就讓大家拭目以待吧.
 

Headphones are more than just that?

Headphones, as the name implies, are worn on the ears and emit sounds or messages to provide auditory experiences. Humans are endowed with five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, serving as sensory organs. Buddhism refers to the six senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness. Each sense brings beautiful and rich experiences to life. This innate coincidence allows different senses to complement each other, enhancing and making various experiences more comprehensive and wonderful. technology has continuously improved the sensory experiences of individual senses, including the clarity and stereoscopic nature of audiovisual experiences and the quality and preparation methods of food for taste.

Humans are endowed with different senses, and these senses generally can simultaneously perceive six phenomena. When observing something with accompanying sound, the experience is richer than just visual observation alone. If tactile sensation and even smell are added, the experience becomes even more profound and enriched.

For example, when eating, the enjoyment of taste is enhanced if one can smell its aroma. If music is added to accompany the auditory experience or if visual elements are included, it creates an even more delightful experience. The development of various industries and products aims to provide customers or users with more and better sensory experiences.

The simplest question: Why go to the cinema?

It's not just to impress someone. A cinema offers great visuals and sound, with multi-channel Dolby effects. Buying snacks adds a taste element to the audiovisual enjoyment, enhancing the pleasurable experience.

If seats could vibrate and even emit scents matching the scenes, it would be a dreamlike, immersive experience. Disney's 4D movies embraced this concept early on.

On auditory experiences

Listening to music, watching movies, TV, and esports gaming all inherently involve sound playback. Sound provides crucial sensory information. Movies, TV, and gaming also include visual information. Over the years, products like screens, speakers, and headphones have continuously pursued and improved the performance and quality of these two senses. High-definition sound quality, timbre style, 3D stereo sound, VR sound, multi-channel playback, 8K HD visuals, larger screens, 3D imagery, and virtual reality have been the industry’s technological standards.

In recent years, some individuals or brands have started to incorporate elements of different sensory experiences into these products, striving to make the playback world more realistic and to enhance sensory synchronization. The most direct approach is adding tactile elements to audiovisual products. The "vibration" function is evidently an effective tactile feature, often matching different sound frequencies to produce various types and degrees of vibration. Since sound originates from vibrations, particularly low-frequency sounds that require stronger and slower vibrations, sometimes hearing bass also includes feeling vibrations and tremors. This is an objective physical phenomenon. Enhancing tactile vibrations makes sound experiences more realistic and better reflects the physical world.

Currently, products with sound and "vibration" functions include massage chairs, mobile phones, and headphones. The author believes that adding a "vibration" 4D element to headphones can extend beyond traditional auditory enjoyment, offering functionality like vibration-assisted audio therapy and hearing aids.

Vibration as a tactile element in headphones

Incorporating vibration to complement sound requires engineers to spend considerable time adjusting and matching vibration levels to various sound frequencies. It’s essential to ensure the naturalness, comfort, and balance of the vibrations. The vibration must align with real-world scenarios to avoid unnatural sensations.

Headphones with vibration are not yet widespread, depending on brand promotion and the development of similar products to enhance the sensory experiences of music lovers, movie watchers, and gaming enthusiasts.

A thought experiment

The six phenomena include sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness. Reflecting on the most advanced consumer products today—smartphones—why can they convey "sight," "sound," and some "touch" elements like vibration, but not "smell" or "taste"? Consciousness involves self-awareness and thought, which are challenging to fully transmit.

The author believes these limitations arise from current scientific and technological levels. Nevertheless, there is faith that one day, all these sensory experiences will be achievable. This leads to a product concept: a device that triggers and transmits "smell" to accompany sound, emitting the original scents of various scenes to stimulate the sense of smell and provide a more realistic experience. Headphones could incorporate this idea..

Enhancing sensory experiences with sound recognition

By adding sound recognition features to headphones, targeting unique sounds in specific scenes, and matching them with appropriate scents, it can create an immersive experience for movie watchers or gamers.

Imagine watching a movie with a gunfight scene, where bullets fly, and the sound effects and vibrations provide realistic auditory and tactile sensations. If you could also smell gunpowder, it would feel like being on the scene. Or, during a racing game, the engine sounds and vibrations make you feel like you’re in a real car. When drifting, if you smell the tires burning or gasoline after a crash, it would be a novel and exciting experience.. To achieve such an intriguing 5D product, it naturally relies on both hardware and software technology, including some artificial intelligence algorithms. These algorithms analyze and accurately identify the characteristics of all sounds related to various target scenes through machine learning. They then proceed with further actions, such as triggering devices to emit the specific scents of those scenes. This allows gamers or home theater users to experience a richer and more realistic sensation.

As technology advances step by step, it stimulates a gradual revolution in thought, leading to incremental optimization and diversification of product functions. This results in a more convenient life, more wonderful experiences, and more comprehensive enjoyment for humanity. The greatness of technology combined with products brings these advancements to life. Let’s all look forward to it.