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Personal ventriloquist system

Device to allow you to throw or project your voice.
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Imagine being able to speak to the girl at the other end of the railway car, without everyone else hearing. Or saying hi to the girl in the car next to you....of course, the accompanying look of shock, and sudden bolting would also be a sight to behold. I guess this devise would work using directed sound waves...someone tell me, is this possible?
senatorjam, Jun 24 2002

nonlethal sound weapons http://www.latimes....00043812jun23.story
A new take on cupid's arrow; "Weapon Sends Message That's Loud and Clear" article from LA Times on June 23, 2002. LA Times may require you to sign in to access their articles. [jurist, Jun 24 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

American Technology Corp http://www.atcsd.co...eases/05_20_02.html
Same people, same product as described above, but in friendlier non-militaristic overtones. [jurist, Jun 24 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Directed Sound http://www.holosonics.com/
MIT research led to the development of this technology. Sounds (pun intended!) similar to ATC's technology [zxc, Sep 03 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

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       Walky-talkies were the first thought that occurred to me. See a pretty girl on your commuter train and ask people to pass your second handset up the aisle. Talk with relative privacy to your heart's content, or until she pitches your semi-precious handset out the window. I can easily imagine that this type of effrontery may spark many conversations, though not necessarily the kind you desired.   

       An alternative has been developed by American Technology Corp of San Diego, California (See link)These people have developed a fairly sophisticated nonlethal sound weapons system with both military, airline and other commercial uses. LA Times reports (on 6/23/02) that "A significant feature of the device is the fact that the person standing behind or next to the emitter can't hear the sound. It is heard only by the person who is in the sound emitter's line of fire...The device sends out two ultrasonic signals that produce sound only when they hit an object or a person." The article goes on to describe some of the many commercial and non-military uses this gadget might have. Ventriloquising to the girl of your choice was not specifically mentioned (for rather obvious reasons), but it certainly seems to be within the system's capabilities.
jurist, Jun 24 2002
  

       I was recently on a train where 5 young rowdies with large muscles and matching beer guts spent 20 minutes very loudly making fun of some (in their opinion) insufficiently masculine guys who had just left the train. I'm pretty sure the entire rest of the train was thinking the same thing as me: "I'd tell those bozoes what I think of them-- if they couldn't tell who said it"...
hob, Jul 17 2002
  
      
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