Requires wall outlet within length of USB cord. When first plugged in a 'female' computer voice says very factually: You turn me on. Then the motion detector takes control and whenever motion is detected it plays one of 41 things you want to hear... not all of them, but it's a start. It's not very loud. If you want you could borrow it for awhile to see if you like the effect. It could be better, but I must say I've actually been serviced by it here in my oneliness. NOTE: It also includes an option for a strong male voice, but it has to be set to do one or the other. That's user/curator choice. There's a system of randomization and waiting between triggering more positive vibes. It's programmed so that if there's still motion another one just might trigger, and then on a rare occasion a third would trigger, making a sort triple-whammy Haiku of Supportivity. Holding it to one's ear wouldn't be necessary except for noisy conditions. Headphones also work. Now with volume knob!