hearing aids can bring some new ideas to wearable devices

Unexpectedly, the new AirPods have only been launched for more than a month, and the news of AirPods 3 came. Recently, Tianfeng International analysts Guo Mingdi and DigiTimes have stated that Apple will release the new AirPods at the end of 2019 and will also support noise reduction.

However, Apple has not previously updated the same product line twice in the same year. In the AirPods updated last month, many high-voice features did not appear, such as sports health functions such as noise reduction and heart rate monitoring. This may be to balance volume, design and battery life.

In fact, these functions have been integrated into another ear-mounted device-hearing aids. Now some hearing aids and wearable devices are becoming more and more similar. In addition to acting as wireless headphones, they also have built-in AI voice assistants, with noise reduction, heart rate monitoring, fall and The number of steps and other functions, and the volume is small enough.

Although hearing aids are medical devices, they face different regulations from consumer electronics, and are much more expensive, but the nature of hearing aids and wireless headphones is not much different. They are an extension of the function of our ears. Complement some ability.

Regardless of whether Apple will bring noise reduction and other functions to AirPods, it may be a good idea to take a look at hearing aid solutions, which may be referenced by current wearable devices such as wireless headphones.

These hearing aid technologies may be used in wearable devices such as AirPods in the future

In fact, Starkey, one of the top five hearing aid manufacturers in the world, is planning to sell hearing aids to ordinary people without hearing impairments.

Last year, Starkey launched Livio AI, an intelligent hearing aid based on AI, which integrates wearable device functions common in the market such as hearing aids, voice assistants, wireless audio transmission, sports health data monitoring, and so on.

Livio AI has built-in Amazon voice assistant Alexa, which can control music playback through voice like AirPods, and wirelessly connect with smartphones, laptops, TVs and other devices.

Unlike wireless headsets, Livio AI also supports real-time translation in 27 languages, which means that users can, like the International Space Station of “Wandering Earth”, put on real-time, barrier-free communication with people from different countries.

In fact, there are many real-time translation products like translation eggs, but the volume is much larger. The reason why Livio AI can pack the same functions in such a small volume is actually using Google ‘s translation cloud service. Because Starkey’s technology accumulation for translation is limited, it is more important to ensure battery life.

▲ Netease Youdao Translation Egg

According to Achin Bhowmik, Starkey’s CTO, using Google’s translation cloud service requires only half a watt of power to run, and the overall translation delay is about half a second, but the disadvantage is that only Internet access is available.

Noise reduction

In addition to translation, most of Livio AI’s algorithms run locally, and these computing powers are mainly used for sound processing functions such as noise reduction.

Through machine learning algorithms, Livio AI can analyze and adjust the wearer’s environment to determine which sounds are amplified and eliminated, such as reducing the sound of the coffee machine in a coffee shop, and letting users hear the opposite in a noisy restaurant and banquet. What a person is talking about, if the wearer is monitored to exceed a certain speed per hour, it will automatically switch to car mode.

Livio AI’s noise reduction is mainly achieved through 4 directional microphones, which is different from the principle of noise reduction headphones such as Bose and Sony. It mainly reduces the sensitivity of sound in certain directions through directional processing of noise, and enhances the sound signal to be heard, but This kind of noise reduction scheme still has certain limitations, such as when the direction of the sound that needs to be reduced and enhanced does not coincide well.

The noise reduction scheme adjusted based on the algorithm’s recognition of the wearer’s environment to a certain extent makes up for the shortcomings of directional microphone technology. Although this function is mainly designed for people with hearing impairments, it is also useful for wireless headphones.

A university teacher used Livio AI to listen to students’ speeches in class and talk to people in noisy restaurants. The entire process was automatically adjusted by algorithms, without the need for users to manually switch.

In fact, AirPods’s voice noise reduction during a call is similar to the noise reduction scheme of this type of hearing aid, that is, a pair of microphones using beamforming technology filters out the ambient noise, recognizes the wearer’s voice and amplifies it. With the addition of Live Listen, AirPods can also be used as hearing aids.

However, it is undeniable that the noise reduction solutions such as AirPods and Livio AI are definitely not as effective as devices using active noise reduction such as Sony noise reduction beans.

The so-called active noise reduction is to identify the sound signal that needs to be eliminated, and then calculate and generate a set of sound waves with the same amplitude and opposite phase as the noise signal to completely cancel the noise to achieve the purpose of noise reduction.

▲ Jabra Elite Sport

These noise-reducing headphones have higher requirements for microphone recording noise, chip circuit operation and other functions, which also means more power consumption and more complex structures. AirPods may need to further sacrifice volume and battery life to achieve.

However, some hearing aids have introduced active noise reduction functions under the premise of low power consumption. For example, Ai Yier’s intelligent hearing aid E20 / E30, through the aerospace IANA active noise reduction technology and DSR digital signal repair technology to achieve noise reduction, while charging each time The battery life can reach 40 hours, and the volume is controlled to be the same size as the noise reduction beans.

The disadvantage is that this still cannot get rid of the in-ear structure. Some researchers have begun to use machine learning to improve the noise reduction capabilities of hearing aids. DeLiang Wang, a professor of computer science and engineering at Ohio State University, has achieved some results in this area.

After filtering the noise signal through a new machine learning model, DeLiang Wang found that hearing aids using this technology not only help improve the hearing level of the hearing impaired, but also improve the hearing level of normal people.

▲ Flow chart for filtering noise through machine learning

For example, in a humming noise environment, normal people can only understand 37% without treatment, and can understand 80% after noise reduction. This further proves that the noise reduction technology of hearing aids can also benefit normal people, and can even be popularized into more popular consumer products.

Health monitoring

Before the release of the new AirPods, many institutional analysts thought that the sports health monitoring function would be an important update point. Although it did not appear in the end, from the perspective of Apple Watch’s transformation, sports health may still be one of Apple’s wearables. General direction.

Although some wireless headphones like BOSE and Jabra already have functions such as heart rate monitoring, hearing aids may be the ear-worn devices that go further in sports health.

▲ BOSE SoundSport Pulse with heart rate monitoring

At CES earlier this year, Livio AI, a smart hearing aid, updated features such as heart rate monitoring, fall monitoring, and a built-in Google Assistant virtual assistant Thrive to track multiple health indicators for users.

Similar to the “fall detection” of Apple Watch Series 4, Livio AI also implements this function by equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyroscope. When the user is detected that there is no response after falling for 60 seconds, he will contact the three emergency contacts through the virtual assistant Thrive. Send location information and plan the fastest route to that location.

The heart rate monitoring of Livio AI is achieved through a built-in infrared sensor. Brandon Sawalich, President of Starkey, said that monitoring functions such as blood sugar and blood pressure will be added to Livio AI in the next few years. He believes that “in a few years, the hearing aid will become like Iron Man. Jarvis-like personal assistant. ”

At present, wearable devices for health monitoring are mainly wristband products. In fact, many studies have shown that the health data collected through the ear is more accurate.

This is because the arteries in the ear are closer to the skin surface and are less susceptible to disturbances such as sweating. According to data from Valencell, a foreign mainstream sensor supplier, the signal clarity of the same sensor placed in the ear is better than that placed in the ear. Almost a hundred times higher on the wrist.

In fact, it is not difficult to add these sensors to wireless headphones. Apple also has many similar patents. The problem may still be whether it can reproduce so many sensors with volume and design, and how to take into account battery life. After all, iFixit ‘s disassembly of AirPods From the perspective of the solution, there seems to be no room left for more sensors.

▲ Apple Watch Series 4 Teardown. Picture from: iFixit

Hearing aids such as Livio AI have done a good job of balancing functions, size, and battery life. By running some functions in the cloud to reduce power consumption, and ensuring 45 hours of battery life, they have achieved more than many wireless headphones. Rich functions.

Although wireless headphones like AirPods don’t have to be so versatile, these solutions may open up more possibilities for wearables like wireless headphones.

Will hearing aids be the future of wearables?

Even if part of the current hearing aid experience can be compared to wireless headphones, as long as the hearing aid is still a medical device, many functions may never appear on consumer electronics.

However, with the adoption of the Off-Site Hearing Aid Act in the United States in the past two years, some hearing aids can no longer be regulated as medical devices, and prices are expected to drop significantly. Therefore, hearing aid manufacturers such as Starkey will enter the consumer electronics market and try to use hearing aids. Sell ​​to more people.

If the experience of smart hearing aids in sound quality, noise reduction and sports health can really be no worse than wireless headphones, then consumers can completely use it as a daily wearable device, and even this device will no longer be used in the future. It’s called a “hearing aid.”

Achin Bhowmik, the chief technology officer who switched from Intel to Starkey, even thinks that hearing aids can affect wearable products in the same way as the iPhone.

When Steve Jobs launched the iPhone, he disrupted the mobile phone market at the time. He kneaded products such as mobile phones, Internet communicators, and iPods into one product, turning it into a versatile device.

Although hearing aids have shown their potential in wearable products, they also face many problems. For example, collecting and analyzing user voice data in the cloud may touch privacy issues, and it is easier to “overhear” what you say to recommend product ads.

▲ Picture from: “Eavesdropping Storm”

And adjusting noise reduction schemes in different environments based on algorithms may also cause confusion for users, such as when it is difficult to distinguish between excessive noise or the effect of algorithm processing when the equipment fails.

As for health monitoring, although ear-worn devices are more accurate. However, it is obviously not convenient to wear headphones while sleeping, and it is also easy to get rid of them during the turn.

Of course, the double-edged sword is basically a common attribute of technology products. Just as AirPods became popular, it brought new problems of social etiquette. Wearing AirPods in some public relations occasions such as restaurants and barber shops is considered “polite” because It looks like a gesture of “being born close”.

With the popularity of AirPods, earphones are replacing smart watches as the most popular wearables.

According to IDC data, sales of earphones increased significantly by 66.4% in the fourth quarter of 2018, and they are second only to smart watches in the wearable device market. Research institutions such as IDC and Gartner believe that this trend will continue in the next few years .

Therefore, if hearing aids can bring some new ideas to wearable devices, and then improve the daily experience of wireless headphones, it is always a good thing