Earlids (2006/2010)

"Earlids" is a wearable device enabling the semi-voluntary control of auditory gain. Artificial "earlids" represent to the ears what natural eyelids are to the eyes: a fast and efficient reflex mechanism for protecting delicate sensory organs.

In a first prototype, sound is first blocked almost completely by circumaural (ear-cup) headphones; sound is picked by bin-aural microphones and fed to a MAX/MSP patch on a laptop computer. The patch modulates the gain before redirecting the sound stream towards the headphones, using as a control signal the output of a custom made EMG detector based on an INA128 instrumentation amplifier.

A second prototype was built using noise canceling ear-buds, coming closer to in-ear 'earlids' (but the processing was done wirelessly on a laptop computer - bottom/right image). This second prototype was made using a wireless myoelectric sensor graciously provided by Daito Manabe and designed by Masaki Teruoka (for more information on this, check "BodyHack" workshop at TEI2010).

For more:
http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/perception/earlids/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Augmented
• Sensing
• Device
• Alter
• Perception
• myoelectric
• sensor
• entacoustic
• performance
• music
• modulation
• safety
• hearing
• aid

[TheNoel]

Thumbs up for Daito Manabe!