Golfers who wish to enjoy music on the course currently rely on personal audio devices such as earphones or headphones. However, these devices can cause discomfort during long periods of wear, especially with sweating, and may slip off during physical activity.  Such devices also isolate the user from the game and their peers. Playing music out loud, on the other hand, disturbs others on the course, making it an etiquette issue.

To address this problem, we have developed a portable speaker that provides a personal audio experience for users without leaking sound or requiring any device physically on their ears, ensuring comfort, discretion, and respect for others nearby. In collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, our team has designed an audio solution that enables private listening without using cameras, in order to  protect user privacy.

The solution comprises a portable, directional Bluetooth speaker that delivers focused sound to a specific listener. It tracks the intended listener's position via a Ultra-Wideband (UWB) tag, allowing the audio beam to follow them as they move, while still maintaining user privacy. We have confirmed through our user testing and interviews that the prototype of our solution can successfully provide directed, personal audio to the intended listener, although improvements could be made to the sound quality, particularly in the lower frequency range, and UWB tracking accuracy could be improved.