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A Novel 'Smart Glasses' Used as an Alternative to Hearing Aids at a Fraction of The Cost

AJAS · 2022 Engineering

Fillip Cutiuba

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Overview

Hearing Loss is a widespread problem, with approximately 48 million Americans experiencing some degree of hearing loss, and a common solution to hearing loss are hearing aids. Of those who need a hearing aid though, only 1 in 5 use one. A prevalent factor for this is that the cost of hearing aids ranges from $1600 to $8000, with the average cost being $4700. In order to solve the problem at hand, a new, novel device was invented as an alternative to hearing aids at a fraction of the cost. The device explored the realm of 'smart glasses.' Using a microphone, a custom-made program, and a transparent glass-type screen, the user would be able to see the transcription of what is being said right in front of them without their view being blocked. For this study, a group totaling five people that had all previously completed informed consent forms and indicated their clinical diagnosis of moderate to severe hearing loss were brought into a room one by one and asked five different questions. The questioning would be done five times, with each time the background noise in the room increasing incrementally until the noise matched a busy city street (80dB). These groups of five rounds would be done in three different settings: with their hearing aid, with the novel device, and finally, without any devices. After testing, the results showed that the background noise did not significantly impact the device's function, even at the highest levels, and the device's performance compared to the hearing aids is very similar. The results show that a transcription device such as these 'smart glasses' does indeed provide a viable alternative to hearing aids at a small fraction of the cost. Although there needs to be more testing and the device itself can be improved, this is definitely a proof of concept, and already, a second version of the device has been made that addresses the concerns of the first version, such as weight balancing and the sub-par microphone. The new version also provides much easier usability and user experience and better accuracy as a result of better hardware. A third version of the device is in the works to address the newfound concerns with the second version.

From the student

Hello,

My name is Fillip Cutiuba. I have been very interested in Computer Science and Engineering ever since I saw my father programming in 6th grade. I started to seriously program from the beginning of 9th grade and for 3 years I programmed things that would help me in my daily tasks.

This time though, I wanted to help people that are not me; in this case — my grandfather. He lives in another country and the skype calls were becoming harder and harder every time because of his age and him being hard of hearing. Hearing Aids was not an option for him as he lives on pension and hearing aids cost a lot of money and there are appointments associated with them and in COVID, that is not safe to do so.

I started with Version 1 of my smart glasses that I would hope could be the solution to the problem. They were made up of cardboard and the computer was a Raspberry Pi Zero along with a screen that I soldered on and a system of mirrors and lenses in order to project the text to the user. This device achieved what I wanted but I was not happy with the design so after testing and submitting the research paper to NCSAS, I went back to the drawing board to make Version 2.

Version 2 was a massive improvement. The main problem with Version 1 was the weight and the balance. This was all solved with Version 2 with the parts being sourced modified from real smart glasses the firmware being upgraded and Android added.

After my 2nd Version I was invited to AJAS and that is how I am here! I am still planning to make Version 3 with improved hardware and a more modern version of Android. I am trying to save up capital to buy/source better hardware or get something like a grant in order to be able to pay for the expenses.

I am really excited about my project and if you want to talk to me about it, please do!

Images (17)

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Awards (1)

  • AJAS Fellows Badge

Competition history

  • AJAS 2022 Engineering

Resources

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Source: ProjectBoard / American Junior Academy of Science

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