Get ready for the greatest party trick ever, at least until hoverboards or flying cars. The OM/ONE is the world’s first levitating speaker. Yes, this gravity defying speaker orb will levitate above the base unit and spin gracefully as it plays music from a bluetooth linked device. It’s also super portable with a 15 hour battery life, meaning you can take the orb to the beach or the park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCfhdmC7oMY

Other than looking super cool, there is a scientific advantage for a speaker unit that levitates. OM Audio pointedly explain, that when a normal speaker operates, it vibrates the surface its placed on; therefore a meaningful percentage of the amplifier power output is going into the surface vs. into the driver to produce sound. By levitating the amp and driver unit you can put 100% of the amplifier power into the driver to maximize output. Impressively it only takes the OM/ONE 3 Watts RMS to produce 110 dB; loud enough to get any party started.

The OM/ONE uses Bluetooth 4.0 as standard, allowing you to change tracks and control volume from up to 33 feet away. For a true stereo sound experience two OM/ONEs can be paired to one device to sync the two speakers together. As an added bonus the OM/ONE can also function as a loudspeaker and includes a built-in microphone for the most futuristic conference calls possible.

The promotional video does little to explain the technology involved in levitating the orb, but in a recent Reddit AMA, David DeVillez, CEO and Founder of OM Audio, confirmed the use of electro-magnets that oppose one another so that the orb speaker levitates 1.2 inches in the air. A similar method is employed on a much larger scale to suspend MagLev trains above the track.

Thankfully the OM/ONE shouldn’t interfere with your other devices at home and accidentally wipe all your data, as Dave DeVillez explained “When its on, the magnetic field is facing upwards so it won’t impact any nearby devices. The only thing to be careful about is putting credit cards or other magnetically sensitive items directly on a powered base station… The Orb is not capable of producing a strong enough magnetic field to cause problems with devices that might be susceptible to magnetic influence.”

The OM/ONE is currently in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign and has raised well over its $100,000 goal. For $179 you can still back the campaign and OM Audio will deliver a jet black or glacier white OM/ONE to you once its released in December 2014 in the US, or January 2015 Internationally (both dates are uncomfirmed).

Find out more and back the crowdfunding campaign at the official website of OM/ONE.