Razer Project Carol revealed: A head cushion with a surround sound, haptic twist

CES 2023 has seen a lot of concepts get shown off, and Razer is no different. “Project Carol” is a concept headrest with speakers built-in.

Gaming furniture, it’s a massive part of the current industry. From desks, chairs, and a whole variety of different gizmos, it shows no signs of slowing down.

So much so, Razer’s mysterious and oddly named “Project Carol” is part of their plans to further the chairs that they currently sell.

On the face of it, “Project Carol” is a headrest for Razer’s gaming chairs. However, embedded inside are surround sound speakers. Razer claims that it can output “near-field surround sound”.

What is near-field surround sound?

Razer

Near-field surround sound allows for a much deeper listening experience when implemented properly. It’s used often when in the studio, with the setup trying to replicate the real-world conditions that the team will be emulating.

In games like Call of Duty, or Apex Legends, you’ll be able to get the full surround sound experience without an expensive set of headphones. Things like footsteps and gunfire will be easier to react to, as your brain will instinctively know the direction it’s coming from.

Haptic feedback and Razer HyperSense

Razer

In addition to this feature, “Project Carol” will also feature haptic feedback. Razer is powering this through HyperSense. It takes the sound from the game and will rumble the cushion to give you a better indication of where the action is going on.

This is all with the aim of immersion. As comfort is mostly locked down, Razer is now branching out into new territory.

Cinemas have already implemented a feature like with D-Box. The seat can shake, rumble, and be programmed to immerse the audience in time with the action on screen. The PS5’s DualSense also implements this feature to help with immersion.

However, much like some of Razer’s other concepts, this might not yet see the light of day. Last year’s CES brought the Razer Enki Pro HyperSense, which was a full chair with haptic feedback. Prior to this, Project Linda, a laptop/phone hybrid also never released.

One of the only concepts to make it out to the public is the face mask. However, it was routinely warned by industry veterans that it would not prevent anything that it originally claimed to fight against.