CASE STUDY
Bone conduction that doesn't announce itself
Auditus started with an odd challenge: design an assistive listening device for people with mild hearing loss that didn't feel like medical equipment.
The product had to blend into daily life — subtle, wearable, functional, and intimate enough to not feel like a "device."
WHERE IT STARTED
The founder of Auditus came to us frustrated by the market's obsession with hearing aids that either looked like hearing aids or tried too hard to look like consumer electronics.
Neither category addressed the real design question: what if sound didn't come from your ears?
THE SPARK
Bone conduction isn't new. It's been in military headsets, swim gear, and niche cycling products for years. But most of those designs treated it as a technical feature, not an everyday experience.
We asked: what if a wearable device transferred sound through the skull not as a workaround, but as a design choice? What if we could build something you'd forget you were wearing — until you needed it?
That question drove everything.
ENGINEERING
We built around a miniaturized transducer stack that could deliver clear, distortion-free vibration across a wide frequency range — without overheating or draining the battery in 90 minutes.
That meant:
Each layer of the device had to fight for its place. If it didn't make the sound better, the fit more comfortable, or the battery last longer — it got cut.
THE OTO
We called the first working prototype "oTo" — a nod to the Latin root for ear. The name stuck.
The oTo wraps around the back of the ear with a spring-loaded titanium frame covered in medical-grade silicone. The contact point — where sound transfers into bone — was carefully contoured to distribute pressure evenly. Too much force, and it's uncomfortable. Too little, and the audio is weak.
Balancing that threshold took 14 frame revisions.
OUTCOME
The oTo launched quietly — fitting, given what it does.
Early adopters included people with conductive hearing loss, audiophiles who wanted open-ear listening, and professionals who needed hands-free communication without blocking ambient sound.
It didn't try to be everything. It tried to be forgotten. And that's what made it work.
User feedback consistently mentioned two things:
That's the best outcome a wearable can have.
DESIGN EVOLUTION
We went through multiple iterations — from bulky proof-of-concept prototypes to sleek, minimal designs.
The early models focused purely on function. The later ones refined aesthetics without compromising performance.
By the final version, we had something that:
The design evolution wasn't just about making it smaller or prettier — it was about making it disappear into daily life.
REFLECTION
Auditus taught us that the best assistive tech doesn't feel assistive.
It feels personal.
When you design for intimacy — the small moments where a device becomes part of someone's routine — you stop designing products and start designing experiences.
"The best technology is invisible. It serves without announcing itself." — Project Lead