Editor's Blog
This idea was completely inspired by @Saumanahaii ’s thread here:
The first thing everyone asks is “why would you do this?” Honestly, I don’t feel the need to answer this question. People either get it or they don’t. I’m a Grinder, and we are notorious for getting it.
The second question is usually “what are you going to do with it?”
Listening to music is nice and probably the most obvious answer, but I intend to do some very creative things with it. The implant itself is completely undetectable to the naked eye. The device & coil necklace are are easily concealed under my shirt so nobody can really see it. I can see myself using it with the gps on my smartphone to navigate city streets on foot. I plan to hook it up to a directional mic of some sort (possibly disguised as a shirt button or something) so I can hear conversations across a room. Having a mic hooked up to it and routed through my phone would be handy. You could use a simple voice stress analysis app to detect when people might be lying to you. Not to say that is a hard science, but I’m sure it could come in handy at the poker table or to pre-screen business clients. I have a contact mic that allows you to hear through walls. That might be my next implant actually.
I plan to hook this thing up to an ultrasonic rangefinder so that hums can be heard when objects get closer or further away. This will basically give you a sense of echolocation like a bat has. This could be really handy for blind people (many of whom use echolocation for navigation) since it will be audible only to them and doesn’t require making clicking noises with your mouth or using some other manual noisemaker. Echolocation is something I want to start practicing with now because I might be legally blind soon. I lost much of vision in my right eye overnight a few years back. I just woke up and couldn’t see well up close or far away. My other eye has compensated for the vision loss but the doc says the good eye can go at any time and when it does it will be very rapid. I’ll lose my drivers license, won’t be able to read, and glasses won’t correct the problem. Making money will be harder. A cornea transplant will be my only option and that is a bit out of my budget at the moment. So I figure learning to navigate with echolocation is a good thing to develop now, not that I’ve resigned myself to blindness or anything.
Beyond that, I’d love to hook a geiger counter up to it and experience the world or radiation. Living near the old Nevada nuclear testing grounds provides a lot of opportunity for this. I wouldn’t mind finding some yellow cake uranium while on a hike because that stuff is expensive. Hearing a gentle hiss around warm objects might be a novel way to experience the thermal realm. The implant is going to allow for a lot of new senses. Plugging new sensors into the jack will allow me to experience a lot of the world that is normally invisible. Well, it still might be invisible but now it will be audible. This new synesthesia of sorts is an exciting way to explore the world and develop new instincts about the way the world works around you.
I still have a lot of experimenting to do and a lot of things to troubleshoot. Several things impact sound quality and volume. First, the closer the coils move toward the implant, the louder the sound becomes. Pressing on my tragus and moving the implant closer to the eardrum likewise increases volume. A future implant will definitely be a coil very close to the existing implant. This should reduce my power consumption (I think). I’m also considering adding more magnets in other parts of the outer ear to see if that enhances the effects. It should. Bluetooth will be in a future version as well.
I have a hundred project ideas as well as plans for future implants. I can only do so many at once, but if people are welcome to design and ship me implants if they need a lab rat. I know a lot of hopeful lab rats actually.
###
Rich Lee is a Space Gangster, businessman, Grinder, and black hat transhumanist; he promotes tech piracy, biohacking, and committing Grand Theft Future. Contact Rich at megalorich @ gmail .com
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26 Comments
Do you have any photos from the procedure itself? I’d like to see the process.
I don’t, unfortunately. The above ear pic was taken the day I took out my stitches. You can still kind of see the pink incision area on the ridge of the tragus. The implant was placed on the outside of the tragus rather than inside due to the amount of available skin. This photo was taken slightly behind my head actually.
Besides Steve Haworth, 3 other artists were in attendance, 2 of which were assisting. They probably had a better view of the action. If you need more procedure info you might have to track down Steve or one of the attendees.
Have you researched the legality of using a microphone to surreptitiously listen to conversations across the room or through walls? Same with stress analysis software, can this be used without getting consent? Way cool grind/hack but be careful, that gentle hiss could be hot water you are about to get into.
I live in the US where apparently it is legal for things like PRISM to exist, so I just kind of figured there is probably a loophole in the law for this sort of thing somewhere.
First step towards the microsofts and augmentations dangling from people’s temples like in Neuromancer!
You’re the man.
You’re a pioneer, for real. Congrats on the successful procedure!
Hey Rich – superb idea. I’m profoundly deaf so this might be of some use to me. Thanks for putting this online.
Just thinking – in terms of finding the best places for bone conduction on the skull, a good way to do this is to hook up a reasonably good small speaker without an enclosure, put on some music and manually press the back of the speaker coil housing against different areas of the skull. The mastoid bone behind the ear and also slightly above the ear as well as the top of the head are good places.
John
I’ve worked quite a bit testing bone conduction with piezo elements. This device doesn’t use bone conduction exactly, but if I did do a bone conduction project in the future I would use those spots for sure. Teeth are another good spot. Thanks!
I am blown away by this. I am in the process of building a 9v preamp to try a non implanted (perhaps pierced) version with rare earth magets sitting in the conch to get a idea of the quality of it … I would love to discuss this with you if you would spare your time.
Absolutely. My email is below.
Would you consider coupling this implant with an antenna and subvocal mic to make an implanted cellphone
Absolutely. In fact, this has been an area I have been very interested in. Initially I was researching ultrasonic speech capabilities employed by some larynx prosthesis. That might still be an option, but recently a friend emailed me about something TI developed in 2008. The tech wasn’t too developed at the time, but I noticed the inventors just issued some new patents for use with it this year. I am excited to see how it turns out. It would be ideal to use with my implant; like telepathy.
Intriguing! I suppose you know that at least one of the cochlear implant companies has been developing an implantable microphone.
I’m interested to know about the transmission through the cartilage to acoutic-mechanical parts of the hearing system. And what this has done for your hearing sensitivity. Or are you ‘feeling’ sound through the pressure sensors in your tragus?
I don’t feel the sound, strangely enough. I have a magnetic finger implant and can feel fields through that. When I hold something with a strong magnetic field close to the implant I can also feel that, but audio is different. It doesn’t cause as much shaking.
On a related note, when I plug my ear with my finger that has a magnetic implant, I can hear sound coming from inside my fingertip.
Awesome idea! I have been something like this for a while now. Just never had the thought of building my own. How long does it run, and do you have any pictures or plans of the unit you made?
many units are available on ebay and other sites. Searching for “invisible headphones” usually brings them up. The magnets in my ears are different than the magnets sold with the devices. Implanting those ones could kill you since they are not bioproofed. I bought one unit online (since destroyed by testing). I have a new coil that I’m testing now, but it is literally a coil wired to a headphone jack. It’s purpose is to determine power requirements.
Does anything outside of your control cause noise and/or interference?
You mean like my wife and kids?
Joking. Not yet, but I haven’t been able to explore too much of my environment yet with it. I’m having issues with battery life so my range is limited.
This is another Star Trek technology made real. Although it was never filmed as written in the script, Capt. Kirk had been informed of V-Ger through communication devise implanted in his head. His receiver had images. I’m sure that technology isn’t far away.
How’s the range of sound on these? Good bass/treble, clarity, etc? I know cochlear implants have range issues (btw, there are some fascinating simulators of that online), do these suffer similar issues?
Hi very interesting article.You approached to my dream.I had a light stroke,then had a problem close to 、Hypothalamus.
So I need some signal from 、Hypothalamus.
By analyzing the signal,I may be able to know when to meet with some collision.
So as you developped,I want to get the signal from 、Hypothalamus
Could be a Serious Thing if you walk past a Ground Level Transformer (or welding machine)
Talk about Induction!!!
Just a tip. I got new lenses put in in Nicaragua.
The practice was more modern than in many US Hospitals.
Cost: $1500 per eye.
Does this make me a grinder? Next step is to have a display in the lens. Heat might be a problem. Don’t want to cook my eyeballs from the inside out.
If you need an address let me know
Stereo can be achieved by having the magnets in each ear be 90 degrees to each other, and having two coils at an angle to each other too. The coils do not have to be 90 degrees to each other, but that is easiest to get working.
So what kind of magnets did you use? Were they silicone encapsulated so they wouldn’t be rejected?
76 Trackbacks
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[...] fab idea or just plain nuts? The above ear picture was taken the day Rich Lee, a “grinder” (someone who has surgical enhancements and/or modifications conducted upon their person), took out [...]
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[...] Um rapaz chamado Rich Lee resolveu criar uma solução um tanto quanto inusitada para escutar música sem incomodar as pessoas. Ele realizou uma cirurgia para implantar pequenos imãs em uma parte da cartilagem da orelha, local onde comumente pessoas inserem piercings. Os imãs conseguem se comunicar com um equipamento que utiliza uma bobina para enviar o som para o ouvido do rapaz. O aparelho fica escondido, pendurado no pescoço de Lee, e assim ninguém percebe quando ele escuta suas músicas. Já pensou se essa moda pega? Fonte: BoingBoing e H+ Magazine [...]
[...] de pôquer. Ou seja: a experiência de hackear o corpo humano vale a pena? Isso depende de você. [H+ Magazine via Boing [...]
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[...] the first person to have ever implanted an earbud in his ear, explained the process this week in a post on Humanity+, a nonprofit that “advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human [...]
[...] the first person to have ever implanted an earbud in his ear, explained the process this week in a post on Humanity+, a nonprofit that “advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human [...]
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[...] Source Pin It CA VA VOUS INTÉRESSER:Idée cadeau – Casque Audio Star-WarsDigital Tattoo Interface – Affichage cellulaire et tatouages éle…iDermal – Un iPod Nano en guise de montre (sans bracelet) Cyberpunk 2077 – Le premier trailer du jeu de rôle Publié dans Cyberpunk, DIY, Vidéos | Marqué avec chirurgie, Cyberpunk, écouteurs, implant, oreille A propos de l'auteur : Arakiel (Aka: Alex) Passionné par les nouvelles technologies, le High-tech et la culture g33k en général, je partage des astuces et mes humeurs sur ce blog. Vous pouvez me suivre sur Twitter, Google+ et Facebook ou m'écrire directement par mail. facebook Twitter RSS Email YouTube [...]
[...] man who expects to soon be blind has implanted a magnet into his ear, which can now be used as a wireless headphone. The man used a set of instructions for putting a [...]
[...] the first person to have ever implanted an earbud in his ear, explained the process this week in a post on Humanity+, a nonprofit that “advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human [...]
[...] which is apparently mod talk for ‘mental genius’. “Grinders” like Lee practise body modification, not just for aesthetics, but in order to modify mankind into a sort of walking iPhone, [...]
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[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] the first person to have ever implanted an earbud in his ear, explained the process this week in a post on Humanity+, a nonprofit that “advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] em: http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/06/24/diy-headphone-implant/ Share this:TwitterFacebookCurtir isso:Curtir Carregando… Adicionar o link permanente aos [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] via Tags: is it just me?, jucarii, video [...]
[...] are other uses, too, he writes in h+ magazine: “Listening to music is nice and probably the most obvious answer, but I intend to do some [...]
[...] 除了隨時隨地聽音樂之外，隱形耳機還能做些其它的事情。在h+magazine 網站上，Rich Lee 寫道，“我能用它和智慧型手機上的GPS 配合，在城市街道步行的時候導航。我計劃把它和某種指向性麥克風整合（可能設計成襯衫鈕扣或其它樣式），從而聽到屋子裡的對話。把它和麥克風連接，然後透過手機傳導，將是很容易的事情。” [...]
[...] ne soit probablement pas aussi séduisant qu’Adam Jensen de Deux Ex: Human Revolution, Rich Lee est considéré par certains comme un spécialiste des modifications corporelles. Aussi [...]
[...] Transhumanism in the consumer electronics era, once again I was in the vanguard. Here we are: http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/06/24/diy-headphone-implant/ Se ti piace questo pensiero, condividilo cliccando qui – If you liked this thought, click here to [...]
[...] future is now! If this is something you think you would like to put yourself through, Rich has created a DIY tutorial to help you [...]
[...] por perto, não fale nada que possa te comprometer! Fonte: H+ Magazine, BoingBoing [...]
[...] what body hacker Rich Lee has done, by implanting rare-earth magnets in his ears, so he can listen to music or amplified sounds even when he’s not wearing headphones at [...]
[...] what body hacker Rich Lee has done, by implanting rare-earth magnets in his ears, so he can listen to music or amplified sounds even when he’s VN:F [1.9.22_1171]please [...]
[...] in the magazine Humanity+ Mr Lee said: ‘Having stuff like this done isn’t really the realm of [...]
[...] sa zavojnicom koja ih aktivira) koristiti kao permanentne slušalice, a nakon toga je uslijedio i konačni podvig, pretvaranja teorije u praksu i ugrađivanja permanentnih slušalica od strane stanovitog Richa [...]
[...] what body hacker Rich Lee has done, by implanting rare-earth magnets in his ears, so he can listen to music or amplified sounds even when he’s not wearing [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] future is now! If this is something you think you would like to put yourself through, Rich has created a DIY tutorial to help you out. Fuckin’ magnets [...]
[...] addresses the most obvious question, “why would you do this?” with an equally obvious answer: Because. If [...]
[...] what body hacker Rich Lee has done, by implanting rare-earth magnets in his ears, so he can listen to music or amplified sounds even when he’s not wearing [...]
[...] dove stato immesso il magneteIl “trans-umanista” Rich Lee ha per voluto andare oltre (ecco la sua pagina), arrivando a impiantare i magneti nelle orecchi, pi precisamente nel trago. Il suono [...]
[...] CNet / H+ var dd_offset_from_content = 40; var dd_top_offset_from_content = 0; [...]
[...] addresses the most obvious question, “why would you do this?” with an equally obvious answer: Because. If [...]
[...] è andato oltre e nella sua pagina spiega come funziona il suo impianto. Le cuffiette vengono impiantate nel trago, la parte [...]
[...] headphones. (P.S. that part of the ear is the [...]
[...] way to explore the world and develop new instincts about the way the world works around you,” he explains. Which sounds fun if, you know, you’re into that whole “slice open your tragi and stuff [...]
[...] way to explore the world and develop new instincts about the way the world works around you,” he explains. Which sounds fun if, you know, you’re into that whole “slice open your tragi and stuff [...]
[...] way to explore the world and develop new instincts about the way the world works around you,” he explains. Which sounds fun if, you know, you’re into that whole “slice open your tragi and stuff [...]
[...] way to explore the world and develop new instincts about the way the world works around you,” he explains. Which sounds fun if, you know, you’re into that whole “slice open your tragi and stuff [...]
[...] to try a universe and rise new instincts about a approach a universe works around you,” he explains. Which sounds fun if, we know, you’re into that whole “slice open your tragi and things [...]
[...] DIY Headphone Implant >> H+ Magazine [...]
[...] DIY Headphone Implant >> H+ Magazine [...]
[...] DIY Headphone Implant >> H+ Magazine [...]
[...] Infos im Originalartikel unter hplusmagazine und im folgenden fünfminütigen Video. Mehr Hintergrundinfos zum Zukunftstrend Bio- bzw. [...]
[...] The procedure, performed by Gilbert, Ariz., body modification artist Steve Haworth, “went very smoothly and the pain was surprisingly minimal,” Lee, a self-described “grinder” (one of a growing number of people who get surgical enhancements to push the limits of human capability), reports on H+ Magazine. [...]
[...] (molinillos), y uno en particular ha modificado sus sentidos de una manera muy a la reflexión. Rich Lee es parcialmente ciego y su condición con el tiempo lo llevará a la ceguera total. Como un [...]
[...] way to explore the world and develop new instincts about the way the world works around you,” he explains. Which sounds fun if, you know, you’re into that whole “slice open your tragi and stuff [...]
[...] what body hacker Rich Lee has done, by implanting rare-earth magnets in his ears, so he can listen to music or amplified sounds even when he’s not wearing [...]
[...] Fonte: http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/06/24/diy-headphone-implant/ [...]
[...] Rich Lee – DIY Headphone Implant 1.0 [...]
[...] This project was inspired by Rich Lee’s DIY headphone implants. [...]
[...] sitting down. He received waves of attention in the press last month for being the first person to surgically implant neodymium magnets into his ears; paired with a small apparatus around his neck, Lee can use his ear magnets as built-in headphones. [...]
[...] doctors tend to frown on this sort of thing (go figure), he had a “body modification artist” install the device in his tragus, i.e., that little nub of cartilage protecting your ear canal. Although this specific [...]