RE/ACTION: Student project seeks to stop unwanted listening from tech

Posted on Thursday, April 13th, 2023

Learners in the Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) program are developing a device that can block tech from passive listening. Their prototype will be one of the projects on display at the RE/ACTION Showcase on April 14.

Virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa always have their microphones active, as they wouldn’t be able to respond otherwise. This raises obvious concerns for privacy-minded people, as it is not currently known how much, if any, of this passive listening is stored or otherwise recorded.

“If you’re at home and you’re trying to have private conversations, our goal is to maintain that integrity,” said EET learner Caleb Smith. “If you’re in public you could have people listening in, you’re expecting that, but when you’re at home it’s your own safe space. We want to keep it that way by having a device secure that.”

Called “the Cone of Silence,” the device — developed in part by Smith and fellow student Adam Cacciotti — can distort passive listening by emitting ultrasonic frequencies in a contained area. These sounds will be picked up by digital microphones and efforts are being made to ensure the frequency remains inaudible to people and pets. It will effectively create a space in the home where passive listening is not possible, giving people more control over their digital security.

“Our main goal would be just giving people an option,” said Smith. “You don’t want your information to just be out there, right? Some stuff is meant to stay personal, and this gives you the option to keep it that way.”

Smith and Cacciotti’s efforts are a continuation of a prior effort at the College’s MakerSpace, which began developing the project in partnership with a local entrepreneur. The eventual goal of the applied research that has gone into this project is a market-ready product. According to Smith, there are few — if any — competitors to this product, and devices that block passive listening are not widely available for consumer purchase.

Smith and Cacciotti will present their Cone of Silence prototype at the RE/ACTION Showcase on April 14. They are looking forward to sharing the results of their hard work with the College community and showcasing the increasing need for digital privacy. Click here for more information about the showcase and click here to register.

“No one really thinks about making things like this,” said Smith. “The idea of [digital security] may cross your mind on occasion, but this is an actual physical product. I hope that people will be interested in seeing how we did it and how it works.”


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