ANR headphones

2016, Bose

Wireless noise-cancelling headphones with improved wearability

Work
︎ Market research
︎ Concept sketching
︎ 3D modeling
︎ Prototyping with fabric, 3D prints, woven cable, and ︎ existing headphone components
︎ Concept testing and selection
︎ Visualization

Goals
︎ Comfortable and secure for a wide range of body types
︎ Highly portable, fit easily into a pocket
︎ Easy to don/doff
︎ Gender-neutral

At the time of this project, wireless in-ear headphones with noise reduction features required a greater amount of electronics and battery capacity than was feasible to package inside of an earbud. Our company and much of the market had gone towards designs housing the electronics within a rigid plastic neckband. My aim was to design a version of this product with improved portability and wearable comfort.

I wanted to employ only flexible materials for contact with the highly variable geometry of the neck and clavicle. I found that by using the cables themselves to contact the body I was able to leverage an existing design element to provide flexibility. Flat woven cables were ideal for increasing contact area, providing a cloth feel, and packaging the high number of conductors while maintaining flexibility in at least one direction. The electronics and battery are consolidated in a pendant that hangs from the center of the wearer’s neck.

The final design includes a magnetic attachment behind the neck to support easy donning and doffing. The full assembly is able to fold down to a very small volume for improved portability. The aesthetic is purposefully less masculine than prior designs and strives to appeal more equally to all people.

Version without noise cancelling feature: