split earbuds: the world's first standalone music player

split earbuds: the world’s first standalone music player by greenwing audio
all images courtesy greenwing audio

‘split’ by miami-based greenwingaudio is a standalone, hands-free music player that unobtrusively fits in your ears, working without cables and bluetooth. the penny-sized audio system contains a small circuit board, button cell battery, 256mb memory chip and a 32 bit ARM cortex m3 processor for a high-quality and tangle-free listening experience. by synchronizing the right and left earphone with two high-precision crystal clocks, the pair of 6mm neodymium dynamic drivers play in unison without being physically connected or exchanging a continuous stream of radio waves.

to change the track and volume, users simply bite down with their jaw, where a vibration signal is detected by a custom-made three-axis accelerometer. compatible with both windows and iOS operating systems, ‘split’ connects to the standard USB port of your computer with outlets for two different specially designed cables: one for uploading songs and one for recharging the batteries. to learn more about the wireless headphones, check out the project on kickstarter here, as it is currently seeking funding.

‘SPLIT’ on kickstarter

scale of the ‘split’ earbuds

recharging split’s batteries

the flex circuit is folded before being mounted inside the ‘split’ earphone

testing: accelerometers mounted on the left and right earpieces

the back side of the ‘split’ circuit:

1. flash memory
2. The ARM processor with integrated analog peripherals and high speed operational amplifiers

front side of the flexible circuit inside Split showing the 3-axis accelerometer and the precision crystal clock