Using the Internet of Sound to transfer IoT data via speakers

Some kinds of data should be encoded onto an inaudible, near-ultrasound layer placed on top of normal, audible sounds a process that could rapidly scale Internet of Things (IoT) adoption, says start-up Trillbit.The company says that by doing that kind of overlay, any microphone and speaker is turned into a data-transfer device that then could be used for payments transfers, user authentication, and smart city applications such as digital locks. “There is no common universal protocol to connect Internet of Things,” Trillbit explains on its website. “Speakers [and micro phones], which are already in place, and all around us” could perform connections. Trillbit’s plan is to develop a system that weaves ultrasonic pulses, which it calls “Trill Tones,” into common sounds, such as music and public announcements. Ultrasonic is the type of sound that the human ear doesn’t register, but equipment can pick up. Smartphones, or any microphone, then, could be used to receive the generated audio pulses and decode the data. In turn, a smartphone speaker within proximity could send a tone to any receiving microphone, such as one embedded in a door lock. Indeed, any specific action could be triggered, including a purchase or communicating with a robot. One of the key applications, according to the company, and one that it is primarily pitching, is related to consumers passing through an environment and targeting them a la Bluetooth beaconing. Trillbit says its proximity intelligence technology would be better than existing beaconing because equipment deployment is already done the retail store’s speakers, for example, are in situ. It’s cross-platform, too, because it can be used not only by multiple smartphone operating systems, but also legacy TVs and radios.