NTT's PSZ Technology Wins Planning Award at VGP2026 SUMMER
The award recognizes a sound-confinement technology that is already moving from consumer headphones into public transportation, signaling real-world deployment beyond personal audio.
Reporting from 1 sources: ASCII.jp.
NTT Sonority announced on June 25 that NTT's patented PSZ (Personalized Sound Zone) technology received the Planning Award at VGP2026 SUMMER, Japan's largest audiovisual award. The award recognizes innovative ideas and designs that break conventional frameworks. PSZ uses phase cancellation to confine sound to a specific area while suppressing leakage, enabling private listening in open environments. The technology is already used in consumer products under the nwm and cocoe brands and is scheduled for introduction in JR Central's Tokaido Shinkansen Supreme Class. Alongside the PSZ award, 13 products from NTT Sonority's brands won category awards. The nwm ONE open-ear headphones took Gold in the Bluetooth Over-Head Headphones (30,000 to under 50,000 yen) division. Other Gold winners include the nwm DOTS truly wireless ear-speakers, the nwm GO neckband ear-speakers, and the nwm WIRED models. The cocoe Ear sound collector and cocoe Link TV transmitter also received awards. NTT Sonority was established in 2021 to commercialize PSZ and related acoustic technologies.
VGP2026 SUMMER is judged by a panel of critics, journalists, and electronics retailers, and has been running since 1987. The Planning Award is a Special Award given to products or initiatives evaluated for their innovative ideas and designs. PSZ, developed by NTT Computer & Data Science Laboratories, works by superimposing a sound wave with its inverted phase to cancel sound outside a targeted zone, creating a private listening area without headphones. NTT Sonority, spun off in 2021 to commercialize the technology, operates the audio brand nwm and the hearing-support brand cocoe. The nwm ONE, which also incorporates NTT's Magic Focus Voice technology for clear calls, is the first nwm product to dual-mount both core technologies. A separate ASCII.jp article highlighted the nwm ONE's open-ear design and its current Amazon discount to 33,480 yen. Other award winners include the BONX Stick microphone device and the LinkShell conference speaker, both using NTT's voice isolation technology. The cocoe Ear sound collector, launched in June 2026, is described as the world's first open-ear type behind-the-ear sound collector.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.