The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project provides new tools to the deaf and hard-of-hearing populations. Over 466 million people in the world with have hearing loss. This project will advance a technology to convert speech and other sounds in the environment to information that can be comprehended through the sense of touch. It has the potential to supplement existing techniques such as lip-reading and serve as a non-invasive, cheaper alternative to interventions like cochlear implant surgery. Moreover, the research conducted herein will lay the groundwork for future devices leveraging touch-based communication, such as a wearable that converts digital input to touch-based information. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a way of converting auditory speech to information that can be perceived through the skin. The key research objectives include 1) the development of a touch-based language that intuitively represents words, similar to Braille; and 2) the development of a computerized glove that converts auditory input to the coded touch-based language and transmits it to the skin. This project will develop a mathematical formula to facilitate the efficient translation of auditory information into touch-based signals, and conduct research aimed at maximizing the discriminability of auditory signals perceived via touch. This will be used to guide electrode placement in glove development for sending signals to the skin. The anticipated results are the development of a basic prototype capable of converting speech to touch.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
