STAMFORD, CT – September 14, 2016 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE:HAR), the premier connected technologies company for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, announced it will showcase additional sensor functionality for the industry’s first developer-ready consumer headphones at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016. HARMAN will demonstrate one of our immersive JBL EVEREST ELITE virtual reality hacks in collaboration with the Vive, the virtual reality system from HTC.  The JBL EVEREST ELITE SDK interacts with the Steam VR API to read the Chaperone bounds for the HTC Vive and ties this into the JBL Ambient Aware feature of the headphone. The new experience allows the front camera and Chaperone bounds to display on the HTC Vive. Simultaneously, audio from the outside world fades through the JBL Ambient Aware feature allowing users to see and hear without taking off the headphones -- mirroring visual capability with an elevated audio experience and greatly improving consumer safety. When a user steps back into the play area they experience the fully immersive environment with active noise cancellation.  

As a sponsor of the TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016 Hackathon event, HARMAN will offer developers the opportunity to “hack” the JBL EVEREST™ ELITE headphones using the EVEREST™ ELITE SDK available at the HARMAN Developer Community website: developer.harman.com. HARMAN becomes the first brand to connect multiple services and open APIs to headphones -- releasing software updates that enable new use cases with nine axis motion sensor and headphone button access.  This will change how listening experiences can be customized beyond music enabling consumers to enjoy legendary audio as well as staying connected to the world around them and interacting with other smart devices. Developers are encouraged to create new use cases and applications for the EVEREST™ ELITE devices including the JBL EVEREST™ ELITE 300 and JBL EVEREST™ ELITE 700 headphones. 

“The JBL brand continues to push boundaries in the consumer technology and audio industries and our work with the developer community will propel this innovation further and faster,” said Kevin Hague, VP, Developer Community and Programs at HARMAN. “Since we first launched the EVEREST™ ELITE SDK at Disrupt NYC, developers around the world have been able to customize their audio experiences by leveraging platform capabilities like NXTGen Noise Cancelling and granular control of the audio DSP. The HARMAN team is excited to see what developers will do with the new functions at the Tech Crunch Disrupt S.F. Hackathon.”

“We applaud partners like HARMAN who see Virtual Reality as an emerging market worthy of their solutions to unique challenges. HARMAN has a history of innovation and product excellence, so we’re thrilled to see the JBL EVEREST™ ELITE headphones working in unison with the Vive Chaperone system, a safety and convenience feature that indicates play area boundaries. We look forward to seeing how consumers and developers receive and adopt this new technology,” said Daniel O’Brien, Vice President Virtual Reality, HTC.

JBL EVEREST™ ELITE headphones are an ideal consumer device for developers: they are powerful and are packed with the latest HARMAN JBL audio technology innovations including NXTGen Active Noise Cancelling Technology and TruNote™ Auto Sound Calibration.  With Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless connectivity, EVEREST™ ELITE headphones deliver indispensable comfort, freedom and personalization for work and play. The sky is the limit designing new EVEREST™ ELITE features and functionality using the SDK.  Examples of what’s possible include:

  • NEW Nine-Axis Motion Tracking Sensor: Access the integrated Gyro + Accelerometer + Compass sensor to create motion based features.
  • NEW Custom Smart Button Event: Developers can now customize the function of the headphone button to manage 3rd party apps and services via a physical button tap. This new UI possibility allows for a customized experience without having to reach for a smartphone.
  • NXTGen Active Noise Cancelling: Adjust noise cancelling and ambient awareness settings to optimize listening for productivity and social environments.
  • Advanced EQ Controls: Using APIs, adjust the headphones’ frequency response to create your own listening profiles for context-specific use-cases.
  • Internet of Things Capabilities: Connect your smart home devices and appliances to your headphones via IoT hubs: imagine hearing doorbells, alerts, timers and messages through EVEREST™ headphones.

HARMAN at TechCrunch Disrupt SF

Hackathon

HARMAN encourages all developer teams who are interested in “hacking” their own pair of JBL EVEREST™ ELITE headphones to stop by the HARMAN sponsor table to receive their own pair of JBL EVEREST™ ELITE headphones as well as instructions for how to access the EVEREST™ ELITE SDK.

Booth

Disrupt conference attendees are encouraged to stop by the HARMAN booth throughout the event for demonstrations of the JBL EVEREST™ ELITE headphones and other developer-ready products in the HARMAN portfolio. We will host demonstrations of the JBL EVEREST ELITE headphone virtual reality hack in collaboration with the HTC Vive.

For more information about HARMAN’s Developer Community and to download the JBL EVEREST™ ELITE SDK, please visit www.developer.harman.com.

About VIVE

Vive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality platform designed by HTC and Valve. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR, Vive delivers on the promise of VR with game-changing technology and best-in-class content. Unveiled during HTC’s Mobile World Congress keynote in March 2015, Vive has since been recognized with over 65 awards. For more information on Vive, please visit www.vive.com.

About TechCrunch Disrupt

TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016 (https://techcrunch.com/event-info/disrupt-sf-2016/) is the world’s leading authority in debuting revolutionary startups, introducing game-changing technologies and discussing what’s top of mind for the tech industry’s key innovators. Disrupt gathers the best and brightest entrepreneurs, investors, hackers, and tech fans for on-stage interviews, the Startup Battlefield competition, a 24-hour Hackathon, Startup Alley, Hardware Alley, and After Parties. The conference is September 10 - 14 at Pier 48 in San Francisco.