Fujitsu vibrating hair clip helps deaf feel the beat

Fujitsu has developed a gadget to help the deaf experience beats around them. The tool has been designed as a hair clip, named as Ontenna. The built-in vibrator on the Ontenna generates vibrations by detecting ambient sounds around the user. Sounds are converted into vibrations and the intensity of the vibrations depends on the amplitude of the audio. This helps the person to ‘feel’ the sound, if he cannot hear it.

A Fujitsu spokeperson told to CNET that human body can detect movement via vibrations transmitted through the hair. Hence, the hairclip is the perfect place for a device like this.

The developers are also giving an option to bald and users with short hair to clip Ontenna onto their skin. However, Ontenna is still under tests and production is slated to start by end of the year. Though price for it hasn’t been decided as yet, the company has hinted that it may cost around 6,000 yen (approximately Rs 3,700).