Innovation of the week: Your own personal cloud of sound

"If you work in a crowded office, you're probably considerate enough to wear a pair of headphones so you don't disturb your co-workers with your raucous tunes," said Nicole Lee at Engadget​.com. That courtesy could soon be rendered obsolete, thanks to the Soundlazer VR directional speaker, which wraps the listener "in a private cloud of sound."

(Courtesy image)

A slim device that hangs suspended over your desk, the speaker uses "planar wave technology" to focus crisp-sounding audio straight at your ears. Walk a few feet away, and whatever's coming out of the speaker becomes softer and more muffled until, at about 8 feet, it's nothing more than "background noise." The Soundlazer VR, which launched on Kickstarter last week, can be preordered starting at $209 for the full-size overhanging model and $169 for a more diminutive desktop version. It's expected to ship in October.