When we think about the future, all of us imagine how advanced the technology will be. Maybe there will be biological enhancements that could make us communicate telepathically? Or even a HUD display that only we can see and interact with using just our eyes (maybe something inspired by Google Glass, but actually worth buying)? What about even having something that could allow for us to listen to music and talk others without having to use a cell phone or headphones? Perhaps some of these far-fetched ideas could be reached eventually, but, for now, we do have one of the items on that list. We can owe our thanks for this technology to one of the most interestingly useful developments with the human body: bone conduction. This seriously underrated form of hearing is almost like a superpower. It can be utilized to help a deaf person hear, to hear something without having your ear canals obstructed, or even to listen to something while underwater. To hear, bone conduction bypasses the eardrums. In bone conductive listening, the bone conduction device performs the role of your eardrums; the device decodes sound waves and converts them into vibrations that can be received directly by the cochlea so that the eardrum is never involved. The “sound” reaches the ears in the form of vibrations through the bones, skull, and skin. Bone conduction is the future of headphone technology and the first step to that future will be arriving this year.

Since April, 2015, the company Zungle announced its upcoming product “Panther” on kickstarter.com. For a little over $100, backers could receive an early pair of the Zungle Panther bone conduction sunglasses. Yeah, I said sunglasses.

These stylish sunglasses allow for the wearer to connect to their smartphone over Bluetooth and listen to music as well as answer phone calls through the magic of bone conduction. The sunglasses/headphones have a battery built in and are water resistant, allowing for them to be used just like any other pair of sunglasses would be. The lenses can even be replaced with Oakley’s Frogskin sunglasses lenses since they were made to be the same size.

Since its start, Zungle has had 11,349 backers pledge $1,947,035 to support the Panther.

For more information visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zungle/zungle-wear-the-beats/description