There is a huge assortment of earphones currently available to listen to music or talk on the phone. These range from the traditional cabled earphones to those with Bluetooth technology, however for regular use, they can sometimes be rather inconvenient. For example, if you are driving, or riding a bike or motorbike, regular earphones isolate you from the outside world preventing you from hearing what is happening around you.

To deal with this, bone-conduction headphones are now being developed. They are earphones which emit sound through your bones, which as their name suggests, do not need to be placed inside your ears to transmit sounds. They are shaped like a crown and are placed above your ears to make contact with the temporal and occipital bones. Sound is reproduced directly over the internal ear, allowing you to be aware of external sounds. These earphones were mainly designed for cyclists and motorcyclists but could also be useful for others because whether you are at home, in the office or out and about, you can still pay attention to external sounds while relaxing by listening to music.

For the time being, there are only two brands working with prototypes. The first is Safe + Sound (designed exclusively for cyclists) and secondly, Batband aimed at the general public. They will be available from the start of April next year. Batband headphones will also work as a hands free for phone calls or Skype calls.

I think the evolution of this device, which has already become part of our daily lives, could help to not only revolutionize the way we listen to music, but also prevent traffic accidents and even improve the way we interact with our surroundings.

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