Samsung made a phone case with ears to help you make ASMR videos

Whether you were into squishing foam or cutting soap, the strangely soothing sounds of ASMR video definitely had a moment in 2018. 

Now, research from Samsung may make those videos a lot easier to create. The company is previewing a new research experiment that uses AI and a phone case shaped like human ears to make it easier to create ASMR videos with just your phone.

It’s called the aiMo and the idea, according to Samsung, is to simulate the human ear. The combination of the case and AI is able to capture richer and more realistic sound, the company says.

“When recording ASMR content with this solution, creators not only obtain spatially more enhanced sounds in terms of sound directivity, they also produce vivid, realistic ASMR sounds with AI sound rendering software without professional recording devices. “

ASMR, short for autonomous sensory meridian response, is the strange phenomenon that causes some people to seek out videos with specific types of (usually soft, whispery) soothing sound. Over the last several years it’s spawned its own niche of Instagram and YouTube videos.

Exactly what role the ear-shaped case plays in this process isn’t exactly clear. But Samsung notes it will allow video creators to make ASMR videos even when they’re outdoors, which would be a significant feat. Typically, ASMR videos require environments with little to no background noise in order to capture those strangely pleasing sounds.

It’s not clear yet whether the aiMo will have a future outside of Samsung’s C-Lab, a group within the Korean electronics company that works on experimental technology that may or may not become actual consumer products. But the company plans to show off the device next month at CES alongside other C-Lab research.