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Razer Project Carol head cushion builds surround sound right into your gaming chair

By Fionna Agomuoh January 5, 2023

Razer teased its Project Carol Concept design at CES 2023. It’s the world’s first head cushion design with near-field surround sound and haptics.

The concept has already won several awards at CES 2023, including the Innovation award and Best of Show award, indicating its proof of concept has at least caught some attention.

Razer's Project Carol features 7.1 surround sound. — Razer

The design includes 7.1 surround sound and Razer’s HyperSense technology, in addition to real-time haptic feedback, which allows “gamers to feel everything behind them, placing them firmly in the middle of the action,” Razer said.

The cushion supports PC software and is designed to fit a wide variety of gaming chairs using the adjustable strap, including Razer’s own Razer Iskur and Enki chairs. The stretchy adjustable straps that can be fully extended from top and bottom to up to 350mm, while the location of the cushion also allows for “realistic, high-fidelity tactile feedback.” According to Razer, the idea is that it can be heard from behind the player for a more immersive experience.

It can provide up to 2.4GHz wireless gaming connectivity before it needs charging, and the cushion includes a dongle that provides up to eight hours of battery life via USB-C charging.

Razer often gives previews of forthcoming projects, including some, like Project Carol, that remain in the concept phase. However, some of these concepts, like Razer’s N95 mask Zephyr, do end up becoming real products that you can purchase. Others end up influencing future product design or technology, even if that specific product never sees the light of day.

We’ll have to wait and see which bucket Project Carol ends up being. For, Project Carol seems like a neat idea for a particularly niche audience — designed specifically for those PC gamers who aren’t satisfied with a pair of gaming speakers or a gaming headset.

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Fionna Agomuoh is a technology journalist with over a decade of experience writing about various consumer electronics topics…

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