--- title: "Panasonic’s Horse-Style Blinders for Humans Are Like a Dystopian Cubicle For Your Face" description: "Panasonic's new blinders for humans are supposed to tune out a distracting open office layout. But is it really better than having cubicle walls?" date: "2018-10-17" modified: "2018-10-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/panasonic-blinders-dystopian-cubicle" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "future life factory" - "Panasonic" - "the digest" - "wear space" --- # Panasonic’s Horse-Style Blinders for Humans Are Like a Dystopian Cubicle For Your Face ![]() *\Image: Panasonic Future Life Factory\* ## No Peeking! Sometimes it's tough to concentrate on work when you sit in the hubbub of an open-plan office. Now Panasonic's Future Life Factory — a group of designers working for the Japanese electronics giant — has a solution for you that sounds like a plot device in "Black Mirror": a prototype anti-distraction shroud that attaches to the back of the wearer's head, like those [blinders they put on horses](). It's called Wear Space, and the idea is to get you focused on work by literally blocking out the world around you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t7wWLpaQz8 ## Stop Horsin' Around One problem, as design blog Dezeen [pointed]()[ out](), is that roughly 60 percent of your field of vision is already directly in front of you. And in any case, there's something undeniably dystopic about the concept. What's next? A feedbag for humans like the satirical website [*The Onion* predicted]()? The prototype, which features comfortable materials and wireless noise-cancelling headphones, made its first debut at South by South West back in March. If you're into the idea of strapping cubicle walls to the side of your face, you have until December 11 to support their endeavor on Japanese crowdfunding site [Green Funding](). ## Head in a Shroud The debate surrounding how open offices are affecting productivity is heating up. As *[The Washington Post]()* pointed out, there's plenty of evidence an open office layout might do more harm than good. So perhaps some actual walls might have a better shot at boosting worker productivity. Besides, having a giant visor fixed to the back of your head might end up being just as distracting as your neighbor noisily eating their lunch. **Read More: [Panasonic's human blinkers help people concentrate in open-plan offices]() \[*Dezeen*\]** **More on productivity at work: [Apple Employees Keep Walking Into Windows at High-Tech New Headquarters]()** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()