Yamaha INFOSUND, a proprietary Yamaha technology that transmits digital information modulated into inaudible high-frequency sound signals, will be implemented in new services for smartphones.
INFOSOUND technology transmits digital information modulated into sound signals. The use of a form of spread-spectrum system (diffusing and transmitting digital signals in a broader band) enables the transmission of data at frequencies that are almost inaudible to the human ear. The INFOSOUND system sends short information codes (acoustic IDs) from speakers that are received by the microphones in mobile terminals. By using a mechanism that in conjunction with a server converts the acoustic IDs into URL information, users in the vicinity of the speaker will be able to receive data.
Yamaha believes that the technology could have usage in a wide range of fields i.e. customers within a speaker's range will be able to receive coupons, access e-commerce sites or receive services enabling them to do their shopping.
Yamaha today announced that it has entered into a business alliance with Fuji Television Network Inc. to jointly develop new INFOSOUND services tailored to smartphones and tablets. Fuji TV will develop applications for smartphones that utilize INFOSOUND technology, the details of which will be made public at IMC Tokyo 2012, to be held at the Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex in Chiba Prefecture from June 13?15.
According to a study conducted by Yamaha and Japan's Showa University into the effects on the human body of INFOSOUND, the INFOSOUND signals do not cause an unacceptable increase in stress at the volume levels normally used in communication.
The 18.6kHz?20.6kHz frequencies normally used with INFOSOUND are inaudible to the majority of people. Furthermore, the communication technology is based on a form of spread-spectrum system (diffusing and transmitting digital signals in a broader band) that requires a lower volume for communication when compared with other acoustic information transmission technology. Yamaha claims that INFOSOUND has no harmful physical effect on the auditory organs.
Apart from the abovementioned physical effect on the auditory organs, the study looked into whether the presence of the INFOSOUND acoustic signal in any way places the human body under stress, regardless of the presence or absence of perception of "sound." The results showed that no stress response to the INFOSOUND acoustic signal was observed in either adults or children.