Maybe not completely serious – something a bit light-hearted for a Friday afternoon – but these blinkers could prove quite popular in an open plan office, to help concentrate on the screen at hand and avoid surrounding interference.

Intended to screen out distractions from both sight and sound, it’s a prototype from Panasonic’s Future Life Factory, dubbed Wear Space.

They are not just material blinkers. The device – it must be called a device because it can be controlled by an accompany app – has features such as noise cancellation, to further dampen the sound that may be getting into the cushioned ear-rests (just visible in the pic below).

And yes, you can also play music through the headset, to listen to a noise of your choice.

Apparently, they are undergoing a crowdfunding campaigning in Japan until 11 December 2018. Eye wateringly, it looks like initial pricing will be around Y29,000 (£197).