A team of students from two Chinese universities create customised headphones.
Students from two universities in the Chinese province Shaanxi, Xidian University and Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, are launching a startup that creates personalised headphones.
The headphones are created using 3D printing technology: first, a photo is taken of the customer’s ear before that photo is used to create a 3D model. That model is then imported into a 3D printer so that a customised headphone can be created.
Headphones are a growing market in China, where 900 million units were shipped in 2013. 23% of these were high-end products, costing more than 800 yuan ($128). However, a growing number of headphones made in the People’s Republic are counterfeit, as the country is trying to cash in on the craze for Beats headphones – acquired by Apple for $3bn in May 2014.
The startup was founded by Yu Chen, a postgraduate student majoring in microelectronics at Xidian University, in 2013. The startup’s plan has received financial support from Xidian University’s incubator, which is currently also helping the startup negotiate with investors.
