AI-powered hearing-aid ‘Whisper Hearing System‘ undergoes its very first software upgrade on its mission to become a completely self-improving hearing system.
What is ‘Whisper Hearing System’?
Whisper Hearing System is an artificial intelligence-driven hearing assistance system that offers individuals with hearing challenges the support they need to listen to the world around them.
First launched in October 2020, it is composed of three main components:
1. A hearing aid
2. “Whisper Brain,” a small separate device that runs an AI-driven Sound Separation Engine
3. App Interface
The Whisper brain receives sound from the surroundings, analyzes the sound patterns, and then determines how it can be best processed for a particular type of hearing loss.
Users can manage their settings and update their preferences using the app interface.
What is the latest upgrade to Whisper Hearing System?
The Whisper AI brain has been trained on tens of thousands of hours of user-data to improve its ability to analyze and process the sound it receives.
The sound separation engine’s entire architecture has been rewired to accommodate a noise reduction algorithm and to ensure that it supports future updates.
How does AI enable noise reduction in Whisper?
Noise reduction algorithms are powered by Deep Neural Networks (DNN). When a person is in a bustling space – such as a busy shopping mall – the algorithms receive a wide range of sounds as input.
The DNN scans through this plethora of sounds and starts segregating them based on similarities. By relying on previous experience and the data it is exposed to, the algorithm can separate speech from every other noise. This makes it possible for a person using Whisper to cancel out the unwanted noise and focus on a conversation at hand.
Why the latest upgrade to Whisper is a game-changer?
Whisper has been collecting feedback from users as well as from healthcare professionals over the past few months. The latest upgrade has been carried out based on this feedback data.
Listening is essentially a two-component process – receiving sound signals and interpreting the signals that matter to us. Most hearing devices so far have focused only on ensuring that users receive sound signals. The latest upgrade to Whisper incorporates a noise reduction algorithm that makes it possible for individuals with hearing difficulties to filter out unwanted noise, offering them a radically new hearing experience.
Besides, Whisper has been set into self-improvement mode. Each time a user offers feedback through the app, the hearing system will augment itself to work according to the user’s needs. The more an individual uses it, the more it evolves to suit her needs. This makes it possible for healthcare professionals to gauge the requirements of their patients and make informed decisions.
By upgrading artificial intelligence to address fundamental challenges faced by individuals with hearing impairment, Whisper has taken a meaningful step towards making every whispering noise count.
Source: https://whisper.ai/
Reference: https://www.hearingreview.com/hearing-products/hearing-aids/whisper-announces-first-upgrade-of-learning-hearing-aid
Anagha Rajesh is an avid reader and a passionate writer exploring the intersection of technology and human life. She is the co-founder and CEO of MindChamps, a youth led organisation for mental health awareness. Anagha currently pursues an undergraduate degree at Birla Institute of Technology, Goa, India.
