A hitherto neglected problem in the world of wireless gadgets has been tackled by the Panasonic research department: What about all the AirPods, earbuds & Co – or earphones – that careless users lose at train stations? Exactly: You fall into the track bed while waiting or when getting on or off the train and give the members of the Japanese railway companies a headache. With conventional, mechanical grippers, all kinds of rubbish can be collected from the platform. Because of the coarse gravel stones, this does not work with the mostly very small wireless earphones.

The internet is full of hot IT news and stale pr0n. In between there are always pearls that are too good for / dev / null.

Special vacuum suction device for the track bed Panasonic steps in to help and develops a special vacuum suction device with which the Bluetooth plug can be easily lifted. The teat has several tubes at the bottom through which the air flows and the opening is small enough to be able to suck in and hold an earphone. This is reported by The Japan Times . On the TBS News website (only readable in Japanese) there is also a video showing the new vacuum cleaner in action.

Earphones that have fallen into the track are apparently not exactly a minor problem in Japan. Although the railway companies admonish their passengers to be particularly careful not to lose the little things at the edge of the platform, the East Japan Railway Company should 950 Cases of loss at a total of 78 train stations in the Tokyo area have been reported. Because collecting with conventional tools takes so long and the trains are timed closely, employees sometimes have to wait for the last train to arrive before they can clean the track bed.

Incidentally, the problem has not remained hidden from the manufacturers of the earphones. For example, Apple includes three differently sized silicone attachments with its AirPods Pro, from which the user can choose a size that is right for himself so that the earphones sit securely.

(tiw)