The Tongue Twisting Tooth Microphone

dylanduck writes "New Scientist has found a patent for a microphone that clips on your tooth, meaning you can stay in radio contact even the noisiest situations - like warzones. You use your tongue to flip it on and off. Here is the patent itself. The same article mentions a blimp that launches like a rocket."

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

[vena]

interesting. in outtakes for the movie, the band's publicist had this for her cell phone. she would push the tooth with her tongue to answer the call.

Re:Hedwig and the Angry Inch

[heavy snowfall]

That would be a first nowadays: a patent with a working prototype.

--
Use your bluetooth phone as a modem for Linux [arpx.net]

Re:Hedwig and the Angry Inch

[The Clockwork Troll]

Per the parent, I presently possess a patent pending pertaining to patents with prior prototypes.

Preposterous!

[The-Trav-Man]

Patenting prior prototype patents? Prepare post-cards protesting!

Oblig. Simpsons quote

[ton2fig]

Burns: Now, before we adjourn, gentlemen, I have one last matter of utmost importance. I need to send this parcel with the profit projections to Pete Porter in Pasadena. And it absolutely, positively _has_ to be there overnight.
[hands the package to the man to his right]
Man 1: Pete Porter, pass it on. [hands it on]
Man 2: Pasadena promp

Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[Brigadier]

Now one would think if this was put in a movie prior to the filing of the patent thus placing it in the public domain. This patent should not have been issued no ?? thoughts ? anyone anyone ......

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[FLEB]

It wasn't real. It was a movie.

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[Brigadier]

shouldn't matter I don't think. It was a specific concept that was introduced prior to the patent. The only way I could se it fly is if the inventor in question was patenting the mechanism as opposed to the concept. but IANAL

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[Tim Browse]

Isn't that how it works though? You have to patent a device or mechanism. You can't just say "I have invented anti-gravity! And it will be controlled by a button on my belt. I 0wn j00!"

Er, or something.

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[Ahnteis]

Well, that's how patents SHOULD work. They should be for a specific implementation that is a NEW and ORIGINAL implementation.

Then you get the $$ for figuring out whatever it is you figured out.

Sadly, there are far too many general case patents out there now-a-days and that's one of the reasons you see such a large response on may /. patent stories.

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[FLEB]

There was no implementation.

It's like trying to patent the concept of a "flying car" using nothing but a CG graphic. You file a patent on the method, not the result.

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[craXORjack]

How about when Gilligan got hit in the mouth accidently and his filling became a radio and the Professor tried to turn it into a transmitter to get them off the island?

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[mcrbids]

Now one would think if this was put in a movie prior to the filing of the patent thus placing it in the public domain. This patent should not have been issued no ?? thoughts ? anyone anyone ......

You have a year from the time of public disclosure of an idea to file a patent. If public disclosure happens prior to filing the patent, disclosure of that fact must be on the patent application, and you better have some notes or something pretty substantial to prove that you were the one to come up with the idea.

P

Re:Patent Filed 4-6-05 however public domain prior

[hamburger lady]

that would depend on whether or not the movie scene was an enabling disclosure.

Re:Hedwig and the Angry Inch

[Alex P Keaton in da]

A microphone that turns on with your tongue? I know of women who can get turned on with a tongue....

What all of /. is thinking:

[JoeLinux]

That is exactly what the Imperial Stormtroopers used to activate their microphone in Star Wars.

(For those of you who had no life in High School, we learned these things. Then wondered why we had no girlfriends.)

Re:What all of /. is thinking:

[Anonymous Coward]

And then we modded it interesting...

Re:What all of /. is thinking:

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, stormtrooper comms were just in the helmets; though the devices were controlled with the tongue, they don't have anything inside the mouth.

I for one welcome our dentally implanted overlords

[billstewart]

I, for one, welcome our dentally implanted overlords!

Already spent too much on dental work this summer - sigh... Root canals are really annoying.

Re:What all of /. is thinking:

[mwilli]

And you are still wondering why you have no girlfriend.

Re:What all of /. is thinking:

[interiot]

Actually, my first thought was what would various foreplay and sexual activities sound like through one of these? But maybe that means I don't belong on Slashdot.

Re:What all of /. is thinking:

[The Evil Couch]

Various Shadowrun novels and John Steakly's Armor, too.

If I remember right, the 2nd edition of the Shadowrun sourcebook had a short story at the beginning where someone used a switch on a tooth to activate a phone or a radio, as well as wired reflexes.

Lead Inventor's name

[backslashdot]

Anjanappa, Muniswamappa

A person may have a mic in his mouth, but that's not going to help anyone trying to say this guy's name.

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[earwiggie]

Ha Ha, I've always wondered about how bad non-indians are at pronouncing Indian names when compared to the other way round, you guys just don't get it... do you!! (btw, I'm indian)

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[pyrrhonist]

Ha Ha, I've always wondered about how bad non-indians are at pronouncing Indian names

That's easy! It's because...

• It isn't apparent from the English spelling whether the vowels are short or long (e.g. Arush).
• It isn't apparent from the English spelling that there is supposed to be a tongue flap (e.g. Arush), because English doesn't have them.
• There are some sounds in many Indian dialects that native English speakers cannot pronounce, and will never be able to pronounce no matter how much training and pr

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[gstoddart]

There are some sounds in many Indian dialects that native English speakers cannot pronounce, and will never be able to pronounce no matter how much training and practice the speaker receives (e.g. there is a sound in Hindi, which to a native English speaker sounds like it's between a hard "t" and a thorn, but which is not really pronounced that way).

There are sounds in many languages which English speakers stand little chance of making. I knew someone who spoke passing Arabic, but obviously as a non-native

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[schtum]

I thought you were replying to the Star Wars thread above and read that in a Jabba the Hutt voice: "ANJA-nappa, MUNI-swamappa, CHEW-bacca. Ho, ho, ho."

Sound quality inside your mouth?

[aywwts4]

Seriously though, only a portion of our voices comes from our throat, the articulation is produced at the tounge and the lips, how is this going to sound when it picks up whats inside the mouth as well as what we actualy project And on headsets we sometimes have to worry about the terribly annoying com problem of listening to someone pant at lenght during shows. now do we get to hear him lick the inside of his mouth with sloppy gurgling noises just because he forgot to flip a switch with his tounge? Ick.

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[the_wesman]

So I work for a large tech company that has a lot of Indian people on staff (lots of Russians too) and it always cracks me when people (usually stupid Americans) bitch about the Indian people's names being hard to pronounce. So, to you Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. backslashdot, here's a little clue: every language but English is phonetic. No other language has stupid rules where Y is 'sometimes' a vowel - where C is sometimes K - where "tongue" is pronounced "tung"

Don't be afraid of a name that is longer than "Bill

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[evilviper]

Don't be afraid of a name that is longer than "Bill Smith." Just because it has *gasp* more than 3 syllables, doesn't mean it's completely out of your league. You're probably just too stupid to try rather than too stupid to actually pronounce it.

You can't *just* pronounce names in a language you don't understand.

One of the very important things about knowing a language is knowing the syllable border. Let's use the word 'understand' as a simple example. If you don't know the language, you would be hard-pre

I don't un-der-stand

[AthenianGadfly]

Let's use the word 'understand' as a simple example. If you don't know the language, you would be hard-pressed to realize that it is made-up of just two syllables. If you try to pronounce it as 1, 3, 7, etc. sounds, it will be completely unintelligable.

You know, I speak English, and I'm still hard-pressed to realize that "understand" is made up of two syllables. But then, again it seems to make an awful lot of sense to me as three syllables, so I must just be confused. Or, as they say in Spanish when th

Re:I don't un-der-stand

[CoreyG]

This had me confused as well until I realized that maybe he meant words instead of syllables.

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[lowrydr310]

The city of Bombay in India recently changed to Mumbai, but the reason for the change [berkeley.edu] isn't what you would think. The country is still India though I wonder what's India is called in it's native language or if it's even called the same thing in every dialect.

Another recent name change that stands out is the island of Chuuk [www.fm], formerly called Truk.

Yes, the website for the Federated States of Micronesia really is "http://www.fm/" - I've never seen anything formatted like that.

You Bastard!

[bennomatic]

> here's a little clue: every language but English is phonetic

My French teacher didn't think so. I just failed my midterms because of your "wisdom". Merci beaucoup!

Or as you would have me pronounce it, "Murr-kih bee-yow-cowp"

;-)

Pot, meet kettle

[Atario]

(usually stupid Americans) bitch about the Indian people's names being hard to pronounce. So, to you Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. backslashdot, here's a little clue: every language but English is phonetic. No other language has stupid rules where Y is 'sometimes' a vowel - where C is sometimes K - where "tongue" is pronounced "tung"

English is just as phonetic as all those others -- mainly because its spellings and pronunciations are derived from all those others. Your confusion arises because you don't know how (t

Re:Pot, meet kettle

[k98sven]

You're countering an exaggerated and wrong post with a just as exaggerated opposite.

English is just as phonetic as all those others -- mainly because its spellings and pronunciations are derived from all those others.

That's the point. Different languages have different proununciations and spellings. And they have different amount of consistency between spelling and pronunciation. Is that hard to understand?

Russian is an excellent example of a language where spelling and pronunciation are very consistent. Th

Re:Pot, meet kettle

[hankwang]

By comparison the same word was borrowed into Swedish, the spelling changed to "kö". The pronounciation is much closer to the original.

Actually, the pronunciation of kö is irregular, because the Swedish pronunciation rules would predict the pronunciation [tjö] (k followed soft vowel). Bad example. :-)

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[elgatozorbas]

every language but English is phonetic. No other language has stupid rules where Y is 'sometimes' a vowel - where C is sometimes K - where "tongue" is pronounced "tung"

This is completely not true. In Dutch for instance, 'c' can mean either 's' or 'k'. And I know in French an Spanish letters also have a different pronunciation, depending on what other letters they are surrounded by. Admittedly, English has a lot of oddities, but it is far from the only language to do so.

Also: what you call 'phonetic' is n

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[mdarksbane]

Biggest problem with this is that all of these names have been butchered into English when you read them. Indian ones maybe aren't so bad, but Chinese? I have a friend named Hsieh - pronounced "Shay." How the heck did they decide on that spelling when they translated it? Or some of the Russian names whose Anglicization obeys entirely different rules from every native English word.

If we're going to translate something into English, it really should be just phonetic, but unfortunately it often isn't.

English Pronunciation

[SeanDuggan]

Try looking at these English pronunciation rules [zompist.com]. They will cover about an 85% solution with the rest of the words largely being ones we borrowed from other languages and kept their pronunciation. Admittedly, 56 rules may seem a bit excessive but if you read through it, most don't actually apply for a particular word. *wry grin* At that, dialect will change things greatly. Technically speaking, "bother," "father," and "caught" should all have distinct pronunciations in the US. In actuality, they seldom are [alt-usage-english.org].

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

Here it is phonetically: An-Ja-nap-pa, Mu-ni-swa-map-pa

You're right, very simple. Just one question: Would that be "Ahn Jah Nahp pah" or "An jay nape ah"? "Moo-nee-swah-mahp-pah" or "Mew-nih-swah-map-puh"?

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[bradbeattie]

My last name is Beattie (pronounced BEE-tee) and it isn't uncommon according to the phone book. Yet every time Oracle phone-spams me, the guy on the other end of the phone (sounds Indian) pronounces it bee-AH-tee. Simple name, but he misprounounces it.

It's not the number of syllables; It's how familiar you are with the language and culture's names.

ps. Self-righteous arrogance is just bad style.

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[Thomas Miconi]

here's a little clue: every language but English is phonetic.

Especially Chinese. :D

Thomas-

Re:Lead Inventor's name

[alphafoo]

I remember this fellow from 15 years ago at my alma mater http://www.umbc.edu/ [umbc.edu]. Here's his bio http://www.umbc.edu/engineering/me/appa.htm [umbc.edu].

I missed out

[VATechTigger]

now all those idiots with toungue peircings can go to job interviews and say that they are just antenae for their cell phones for the competitive edge.....

Re:I missed out

[dark-br]

I have a piercing on my tong, you insensitive clod!

I think this is a first

[saskboy]

This is the first time anyone's wanted a "bug" in their mouth.

Thank you - I'm here all night!

Geeeth's with bwaceees rejoice!

[Nova Express]

Now rugged, he-men, special forces guys will lisp when they talk as well!

War zone?

[heavy snowfall]

I'll keep that in mind the next time I enter a war-zone. Like Henrico County [tuaw.com], VA.

On a more serious note, this looks really interesting for diving. But it's just a patent, so I don't have too much faith in a product being released.

--
Use your bluetooth phone as a modem for Linux [arpx.net]

Re:War zone?

[pin_gween]

this looks really interesting for diving.

Not really, it is very hard to create the proper pronunciation of words with a regulator in your mouth. You clamp down on the mouthpiece with your teeth and it blocks your tongue.

If you have a full face mask on, it would be easier to use a radio that is integrated with the mask.

Shock anyone much?

[ghstomahawks]

I can just see it, I want to talk to somebody so I flick my tooth on (wth?) and suddenly I feel a ginormous electric shock throughout my head. My cover is blown when everyone sees my hair immediately stand on end :-

at least thats what happens if I don't let truth get in my way ;)

This is basic Science Fiction made real.

[flogger]

John Steakly's book, Armor [amazon.com] is the first book I read with this "technology". I love it when Life imitates Art.

Re:This is basic Science Fiction made real.

[ZachPruckowski]

That's what SciFi is for: helping us imagine what we want. How else would we get some of these crazy ideas, like tooth-microphones, or instentaneous global communication? On the downside, it gave Big Brother all the inspiration it needs.

Re:This is basic Science Fiction made real.

[maxbang]

Something similar is mentioned in Starship Troopers. Biting down opens different commlinks based on which side of your mouth you use. Or something like that, I can't remember exactly how that worked.

during sex?

[chris_mahan]

So what happens with this little device during various sex acts?

I know, this is slashdot. The only sex acts involve, what... Wives? eheh

Re:during sex?

[pin_gween]

I know, this is slashdot. The only sex acts involve, what...

Hands?

Re:during sex?

[bedroll]

So what happens with this little device during various sex acts?

I was just thinking, if this has decent pick-up then it would take the porn industry by storm. Potentially clean sound without dubbing.

I know, this is slashdot. The only sex acts involve, what... Wives?

Well, now that I realize that I saw this and thought of porn before my wife I feel kinda bad... shucks.

Re:during sex?

[Alkind]

Before, during and after sex: the next patent is for a tooth speaker. Brand name: Cyrano. Advertised on Slashdot. With the first millions made it will be marketed for wider use: political party audiences, life sitcoms, board meetings, fake choirs.

It flickers

[Chemisor]

On... Off... On... Off... ... On...

As they say on Fark...

[hey]

... what could possibly go wrong?

Now to combine different tooth technology

[Anonymous Coward]

Crap! Which tooth was the radio and which tooth was the cyanide again?

Re:Now to combine different tooth technology

[FLEB]

Simple solution:

Try calling Emergency Services on both teeth. Same basic outcome both ways.

This is old news

[TummyX]

It's been around for a while [bluetooth.com].

Re:This is old news

[Frogbert]

Longer then you might think [wikipedia.org]

The BlueTooth Tooth

[TinyManCan]

I wonder if this device is going to bring a new meaning to BlueTooth.

I saw it being used

[RNLockwood]

I saw it being used downtown on Monday, the guy didn't appear affluent enough for one but there he was, all by himself, carrying on a animated conversation with no cell phone or ear piece visible, drinking something in a paper sack.

Nate

Was it this?

[Mr. Underbridge]

Old English 800 [answers.com]

Obligatory Real Genius....

[ToddML]

Mitch: "And Kent, one more thing..."

Kent: "Yes?"

Mitch: "Stop masturbating!"

Kent, looking up: "It really is God!"

Cell Phone

[anotherone]

How is this powered? I imagine it would be a good application for RFID. The microphone itself could be powered by an RF transciever worn externally.

Can't wait for a bluetooth (lol) version of this.

A new combat injury

[Stephen Samuel]

I can see a lot of special forces soldiers suddenly biting their tongue in battle. Preventing that injury is probably going to be the subject of yet another patent.

Re:A new combat injury

[rtaylor]

Mouse geastures work for browsers, so how about tongue gestures? Have a small sensor that detects motion and require moving the tongue in some pattern to activate and deactivate.

Re:A new combat injury

[Anonymous Writer]

Time to patent the clickwheel retainer.

Re:A new combat injury

[Anti_Climax]

You could just leave it in the on position and use VOX...

THEY HID THE MICROPHONE IN MY TEETH.

[mcc]

The Freemasons. That's where they put the tracking device. In my teeth. My dentist betrayed me. He was just part of the network. They do it to keep tabs on you-- know where you are, hear everything by secret frequency. At first it was just the ones they'd sent back from the future, but after Tager broke the secret they had to move on to the general public, to ensure the truth didn't spread. Once they got a taste of power they wanted more. The operations expanded. 10,000 Americans every year. Now everything is in preparation for the Colonization. They hear everything. They know where to attack, when. They know where we're weak. It will begin soon.

Shit, have to go, I think I see helicopters. If I do not post on this site again you will know what happened.

Re:THEY HID THE MICROPHONE IN MY TEETH.

[MyLongNickName]

If I do not post on this site again you will know what happened.

Can I have your UID?

Re:THEY HID THE MICROPHONE IN MY TEETH.

[mcc]

No.

Re:THEY HID THE MICROPHONE IN MY TEETH.

[MyLongNickName]

Is this really mcc... or is it one of the Masons?

Not that I have anything against the Masons; I for one WELCOME our stone-working secret society overlords.

Re:THEY HID THE MICROPHONE IN MY TEETH.

[Soul-Burn666]

Just... just in case.
In case I'm not crazy...
That's how they find us.
By our teeth.
I don't want them to find me. Ever.
I don't want to go back.

Re:THEY HID THE MICROPHONE IN MY TEETH.

[evilviper]

If I do not post on this site again you will know what happened.

Right! 503 errors... :-(

Search TV show realized, almost

[winkydink]

Lockwood? Lockwood!

Actually, I think in that case it was embedded in the tooth and always on.

Cool, Reminds me of the Germans

[hobotron]

And their throat microphone that was widely used in their tank formations during World War II.

Patents patents ...

[karvind]

Two other websites about stupid patents:

Patently Silly [patentlysilly.com]

Totally Absurd Inventions America's Goofiest Patents! [totallyabsurd.com]

Reminds me of Freeciv

[physicsphairy]

"New Scientist has found a patent for a microphone that clips on your tooth,"

It's just like an empire game!

"You found scrolls of ancient wisdom!"

"You found patent for modern technology!"

Design flaws?

[Cave_Monster]

I really wonder how effective this mic would be. How is it affected by food, saliva, smoke, water etc? If it's highly susceptible to damage from these substances then that would require you to continually be taking it in and out of your mouth. What a hassle and highly prone to getting lost. What about if you accidentally swallowed it? Is that dangerous? And can it damage your teeth if, for example, you bit down really hard?

None of these issues really get addressed in the article, not to mention the ease at switching it on and off. Those listening to the transmission could be deeply traumatised by what they hear :)

Patent pictures

[Palal]

For those that don't have quicktime installed:
Pic 1 [uspto.gov], Pic 2 [uspto.gov], Pic 3 [uspto.gov], Pic 4 [uspto.gov],
Pic 5 [uspto.gov], Pic 6 [uspto.gov], Pic 7 [uspto.gov], Pic 8 [uspto.gov],
Pic 9 [uspto.gov], Pic 10 [uspto.gov], Pic 11 [uspto.gov], Pic 12 [uspto.gov],

Re:Patent pictures

[Elminst]

These links no longer work.

But is it...

[TheUnknownCoder]

bluetooth compatible?

Been done already?

[zekemacneil]

The same article mentions a blimp that launches like a rocket."

Oh, you mean the Hindenburg?

Re:Been done already?

[kureido]

Oh, you mean the Hindenburg?

Too soon!

Frank Herbert is saddened by us.

[Amiasian]

I'm surprised there hasn't been a Dune reference yet. Military applications of inter and intra-dental devices, you know. Anyways, wouldn't the inner shape of the mouth, combined with a lot of liquids and the constant need to breathe, plus the clicking of teeth and tongue during certain words, make this impractical?

they had this when my dad was a kid

[fracai]

just bite down on the tin foil

Shades of Starship Troopers

[Wilson_6500]

The book, I mean. The M.I. had tongue- and jaw-actuated radio controls. Of course, there wasn't any bone conduction going on (I don't think), and since this is tooth-mounted, this is actually quite a bit better. Wow--combine today's miniaturization with Heinlein's imagination. You could control your whole damn office building using just your mouth, neck, and eyelids.

Lucy

[pipingguy]

Prior art [snopes.com].

Good point

[Infonaut]

A lot of soldiers, particularly in the combat MOSes, chew tobacco. It's a nasty habit, and not particularly tactical (you can smell tobacco spit fairly easily, depending on the environment).

That said, this could be a real godsend for grunts. Hands-free is definitely where it's at. You need to be able to shoot, move, and communicate at all times. If you have to negate your ability to shoot even for a moment while you're communicating, it makes you vulnerable. The more distributed and essentially "always-on" communications becomes, the better.

Things are moving in the right direction. The concept of an RTO (radio telephone operator) who tags along with an officer, making both of them obvious targets, needs to disappear. The trick, of course, is effective miniaturization. This great, but it needs to be paired with long-range radios that are small enough to be part of a combat leader's load. No doubt the US military is spending a lot of money on just this sort of thing, and I'm sure there are spec ops units running around right now using commo equipment that blows doors on the stuff we had to use even ten years ago.

Re:Good point

[The Evil Couch]

True enough. The ASIPS kicks the crap out of the old SINGCARS radio, being roughly half the size and weight and improved features, and even the ASIPS is getting up in age. I think it's been out for something like 7 years. While miniaturizing radios is always a step in the right direction, something I've always seen Platoon Leaders doing (except the one previous to my current one, worthless cherry) is having two hand-mikes up at a time. While sometimes confusing, having a pair of radio handsets clipped to the helmet is pretty easy and makes communicating on seperate radio nets relatively simple.

Sticking multiple switches in someone's mouth would probably suck.

Getting access to the PL's radios in case he gets hit or completely spazes out under fire and starts giving retarded orders would be a problem if they were connected to his mouth, though.

I mean, I could *say* I was punching the PL in the mouth so I could get access to his radios, but I don't think they'd let me keep my squad afterwards. :p

Re:One of these days...

[commodoresloat]

Someone already beat you to it [freepatentsonline.com].

Re:One of these days...

[commodoresloat]

Some patents [freepatentsonline.com] are much more useful, however. ;)

Re:Useful

[jigyasubalak]

A person will have to be a pretty good cunning-linguist
to operate that thing with one's tongue!

Re:Useful

[cerberusss]

A person will have to be a pretty good cunning-linguist to operate that thing with one's tongue!

Don't tell us you've got enough experience to beta-test this thing!!

Re:Adverse effects?

[mikkom]

there is a big difference, bluetooth transmitter on your ear has skull between it and the brain. When you have the transmitter in your mouth the skull does not protect your brain from radiation.