This noise-cancelling device means you can finally have office phone conversations in private
Tired of leaping up from your desk every time you need to have a private phone conversation at the office? One company has unveiled the solution: a mask which absorbs your speech.
The Hushme looks like a pair of headphones, but is designed to go around your mouth, absorbing noise so you can have conversations without your colleagues listening in.
Premiered at this year's Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the gadget uses Bluetooth to connect to your phone, so you can take calls in private.
Alright, so its gag-like appearance gives it a whiff S&M – but it means users can avoid giving away sensitive private information such as credit card numbers and dates of birth. It also means having work conversations on public transport will no longer be an issue, with employees free to discuss company secrets as they travel to and from work.
CES, which finished last week, showcased such innovations as a smart whistle and a smart hairbrush, which comments on users' haircare routines.
But the standout winner during the week-long show was Amazon's Alexa voice-activated artificial intelligence "assistant", which made appearances in gadgets from smart fridges to cars, robots and baby monitors.
Insurance company Aviva even announced it was using the technology to allow customers to debunk insurance jargon – the first UK insurer to develop a so-called skill for the technology.