Here One

Here One
Category	Other Head-mounted Devices
Developer	Doppler Labs Inc.
Announced	June 2016
Released	Developers: (unknown) Consumers: November 2016
Price	299 USD (June 2016)
Operating system	none (requires smartphone)
Sensors	microphone
Weight	g (unknown)
Controls	smartphone
Data available	Limited
Risk factor	Moderate
Not Standalone
https://hereplus.me

Here One and Here Active Listening are electronic ear plugs that allow the user to control, filter, and or amplify incoming sound. The user can control these functions with the provided smartphone app to which the ear plugs needs to be wirelessly connected. The device is developed by an American startup company Doppler Labs Inc.

The company already release the first iteration of the device named Here Active Listening in February 2016 which it financed through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The improved version Here One is planned to be released in December 2016.

Here Active Listening won the Digital Trends Home Audio award on CES 2016.

Main Characteristics

A male model wearing the Here One ear buds.

The device consists of a pair of ear buds and a smartphone app. The ear buds are wireless and are equipped with a speaker and two microphones - one outer and one inner. The outer shell is made of plastic and the ear plug itself is replaceable. The user can choose from different shapes and sizes for the best fit. The ear buds have a batter life of 6 hours.

The user inserts the ear plugs and pairs them with the smarthpone app. Once the device is ready, the user then can control the sound passing through the ear buds with the app. For example, they can control the lower frequencies of the incoming sound if they wish to hear less bass while listening to music. They can also use a variety of provided filters and sound effects, such as filter out the noise of the aircraft's engines while travelling.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dopplerlabs/here-active-listening-change-the-way-you-hear-the/description

Here One ear buds in their case that acts as a charging dock as well.

Purpose

Here allows the user to control the sound that is entering their ears. This allows the user to filter or unwanted sounds such as traffic noise, or enhance sounds they want to hear such as music or speech.

Company & People

Here One and Here Active Listening are developed by an American startup company Doppler Labs, Inc. The firm is based in New York City and was established in 2013.

• Noah Kraft- CEO and co-Founder
• Fritz Lanman- Co-Founder
• Kennard Nielsen- Vice president of product
• Jeff Baker- Vice president of R&D
• Gints Klimanis - Director of Digital signal processing
• Jacob Palmborg - Director of design

Doppler Labs also collaborated with the music producer Hans Zimmer who also invested in the company.

Important Dates

• June 2016 - Doppler Labs announces Here One.
• February 2016 - First shipment of Here Active Listening.
• June 2015 - Doppler Labs announces Here Active Listening.
• 2013 - Doppler Labs founded.

Enhancement/Therapy/Treatment

Enhancement - The device allows the user to control the sound entering their ears. This makes them able to choose what and how to hear their surroundings, something their sense of hearing would not be able to do normally.

Ethical & Health Issues

There is a possibility that the user will tune out unwanted but otherwise important conversation. This may affect their social lives.

Other concern is that with enough filtering, user may not be able to hear important sound cues from their environment, such as incoming car or calls for them to avoid danger. This may result in injuries.

Public & Media Impact and Presentation

Several technology magazines feature reviews of the device. Some of the include a final overall assessment, too. All reviews are for the Here One Listening, the original version of the device.

Digital Trends tested the device only inside their offices but called the device "nothing short of revolutionary". However, they do not describe any test scenarios nor give a final verdict. Warable magazine gives a thorough review on using the device on a daily basis. It mentions the lack of music playback capability (Which will be added in the newer version of the device.). It does not closely discuss the filtering abilities but the sentiment of the section on filtering is positive. It praises the sound quality and the how discreet the device looks. It mentions that the device is not selective about what it filters out and that the smartphone app's user friendliness is "not always ideal". The magazine gave the device the score 4/5. The Next Web praises the ability to filter out unwanted noise and that, despite its size, the device is comfortable to wear. The author disliked that the device can be charged only through the transport case and that the ear buds can not be controlled independently.

Apart from the review, we found a number of articles that serve as an announcement for the new version of Here One.

Tech Crunch merely informs about the new version being announced, it gives no further expectations. The Next Web informs about the announcement and welcomes the addition of music streaming. CNET also welcomes the new music streaming feature but expresses doubts about the battery life and social acceptability of wearing the device in public due to how it looks. Mashable welcomes the music streaming and the new design.

Public Policy

We are not aware of any policy that is regulating or is otherwise relevant to this device in particular.

Related Technologies, Projects, or Scientific Research

We found no related research that is connected to this device in particular.