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Lixten: Whisper from Glasses

Lixten is the first open ear, unobtrusive wireless headphone for glasses users.

What it does

Lixten is the first open ear, unobtrusive wireless headphone for glasses users.


Your inspiration

Headphones are now commonplace. However, they are not user-friendly under the following circumstances: (i) People are not allowed to put on earphone/headphone when he/she needs to standby to receive calls, since their interactivity with surroundings is limited as background sound is blocked. (ii) Prolonged usage could cause heat accumulation around ear canal, which can incur uncomfortable wearing experience. (iii) Earphones/headphones wiring can be messy and difficult to manage. Lixten is an excellent solution that can fit into glasses, allowing user to enjoy high-quality music anytime, with minimal visibility on head.


How it works

Lixten is composed of two main components: a wearable unit that enables the attachment of Lixten to users’ eyeglasses (at the back-ear), and a headphone module that sends out vibrations through the bone conduction technology. The wearable unit has 3 sizes for different glasses shapes and sizes. The wearer can switch the suitable wearable unit for his unique glasses. The wearable unit is made with silicone plastic, a material that’s commonly used in medical product with excellent flexibility. The headphone module has embedded microprocessor that can receive audio signal from smartphone through Bluetooth connection, and convert it to micro vibrations through a bone conduction component, and it enables the sound to be whispered directly from the back ear.


Design process

Lixten is the product of over one year of research and development. Early development involved the investigation of different technologies that can be combined to deliver music for glasses user in an unobtrusive manner. The challenge was finding a compact solution that can attach to the glasses tip, in the meantime the sound transmission mechanism should be minimal for daily application. After more than 50 major iterations of prototyping, including the fabrication of the printed circuit board, body casing and the silicone plastic, we came up with a unique and novel solution which is the current Lixten design. At this point, we are working with a few factories to improve our design such that it is feasible for mass manufacturing.


How it is different

The 3 core features of Lixten: Open ear, Unobtrusiveness and Truly wireless provide a considerate but unique headphone solution for glasses wearers. It is designed with an organic profile to provide an ergonomic mechanism that fits seamlessly with different eyeglass frames and human head shapes. People can wear them for whole day long without taking it off, Lixten will become part of one's daily outfit.


Future plans

Our team is preparing to turn the Lixten prototype into a real product, and we are launching a crowd-funding campaign soon. We believe technology can unleash human potential to experience the world, and Lixten will be our first milestone to unveil a new possibility of listening.


Awards


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