Embedding Data Signals In White Noise

Anemophilous Coward writes "ZDNet has the following article which describes a company that 'has devised a method for sending wireless signals over ordinary audio speakers so that humans can't hear them. With this same technology, radio stations can unobtrusively transmit ads, Web site URLs, or information about music and artists to in-car cell phones.'" Here is some further reading about the company, Intrasonics.

Ads" Unobtrusive"?

[jhouserizer]

"radio stations can unobtrusively transmit ads"

Is this really possible? - I guess so, as long as they're only "tansmitted", and never converted into a form that can be picked up by my eyes, ears, skin, tongue, nose, ...

Interactive CDs?

[sirshannon]

who will be the first artist to embed lyrics, trivia, etc in their CDs?

Is there no escape?

[Malcolm MacArthur]

Isn't it sad that one of the first things they think of doing is using it to send adverts?

Advertising everywhere... no escape. I remember reading a short sci-fi story about this many years ago. Unfortunately, it looks like somebody else read it as well...

MP3s and Watermarking

[Student_Tech]

I wonder if this technology could be modified to watermark the source of the signal?
But if they are saying that it is random pops and cracks how will converting it into MP3s affect it?
I guess also, how would extra noise because one has a lousy stereo do to the signal?

Applications vs intentions

[moebius_4d]

This is an interesting idea, using psychoacoustic modeling to open a data channel in audio. The article describes some applications, and I'll certainly admit that some of them sound irritating or possibly dangerous (from a security standpoint.) Others sound better.

But not everything interesting to do with this will be done by the company involved, because it may not make good business sense or they may not have thought of it. I'd be interested in what slashdotters can think of to do with such a channel. The obvious use of embedding artist and recording information is mentioned, and I like that one a lot. It would be great to have a radio displaying those things, and to be able to scroll back and look at the last N songs. This would let you find out what that song you heard the end of was, or do a statistical analysis of a station's playlist, whatever you want.

A use that occurs to me is adding the information to advertisements so that adverisers can automate the task of making sure that they get what they pay for. Even performers could use an "ad id" check to make sure they get their voice-over royalties and the like.

Of course, voice of america and similar programs could use this right away. First they start adding this hidden content to all programming, using encrypted books, articles, or any other easily accesible source. They can then easily put a specific message with a specific key into a program that certain people can unlock. There's no entropy difference between the "real" message and the usual dummy ones to detect.

Hmmm lots of fun to be had here...

Screw advertising, obfuscation for crypto!

[gr]

Using a seemingly innocuous message as a carrier wave for a truly useful message you don't want other people to know about is an old-news crypto technique, of course. But here's a fun, new place to apply it.

And you don't even need to seem to be doing anything funny during decoding (the message would obviously have to be enciphered; pass it in the clear and anyone who owns a cell tower between the two points can read it); build that into the phone/PDA. With the ridiculous proliferation of the damn things, no one will blink if you receive a call, chat for a few minutes, and then tap a few buttons. For all they know, you're sending an SMS, even if you are entering your passphrase.

All it really takes to do 3DES or Blowfish in software in a reasonable period of time is a StrongARM or similar (my Newton's got one, you cell phone must), though you'd get far better performance doing it in hardware. (Watch out for escrow, though!)

Oh Great

[Gudlyf]

Now we'll have to worry about some sicko blasting tunes as he drives by my house, sending the latest ad for "When Animals Attack 7" to my cellphone.

Hm, could someone send a mass-broadcast virus this way?

RDS has been around for ages

[PineGreen]

The Radio Data System [rds.org.uk] has been around for ages and it allows precisely that: transmitting extra information with normal radio signals... Because it works by putting digital signal into inaudibile frequency, it should do exactly the same, as long as speakers have any response at 20-40Khz.

Last time I checked...

[Anonymous Coward]

White noise was in fact something you can hear, it's just that it sounds like static. So what they're saying is they've found a way to add static to your music and give you pop-up adds to boot.

The CueCat had this...

[mbourgon]

One of the things that came with the cuecat kit was a rca cable that was meant to go from your computer to your sound card. Apparently, while watching TV they'd embed a signal into the audio that the cuecat software would pick up, and it would take you to their site.

Since one of our local channels was owned by the Belo corp (who owned a LOT of Digital Convergence stock), they pushed it HEAVILY, and embedded URLs in the news program.

So, nothing new.

Re:Is there no escape?

[Anonymous Coward]

Phillip K Dick wrote that story. I think it's titled "Sales Pitch".

Infrasonic

[jezreel]

I remember a broadcast I watched on TV half a year ago. It was how to use infrasonic soundwaves to create atmosphere in cinemas. With all that THX and Dolby-stuff around two sound engineers who had worked together as close friends suddenly started to fight each other over something in the sound studio. Afterwards they realized that their mood had been seriously affected by unherable infrasonic soundwaves they used for the movie they were working on. The reporter said that this is used in pretty much every new movie to create an atmosphere of fear or rage among the viewers. I wonder how far this could be taken...
There also seems to be a strange deep sound around in Europe. Nobody, not even the scientists measuring some American farts deep into the bavarian woods, was able to determine the source of that sound yet. Over 1000 people in Europe seem to be affected by that. They even made some conlusions about global soundwaves created by military sonar and stuff. Pretty scary...

So I'd like to know about every stupid signal I will get, purely encoded data or else. I'm not a technophile but those stuff scares me because I won't be able to switch off the router or TV anymore...

Song title/artist

[krnlpanic]

I have always liked when I put a CD into my player and the name of the song and the artist comes up on the LCD screen. Wouldn't the use of the "White noise effect" allow radio stations to transmit this information to radios for the same display purpose?

*song is ending* "Damn, I love that song, I wish I could remember who sings it. Maybe the DJ will say the song title before the next song comes on." Oh wait, DJ's don't do that anymore...Just show it to me on the LCD!