A unique device now being developed in Russia will help totally deaf people start hearing, Interfax news agency reports.
That will require no surgery or implantation. The device transforms sounds into tactile feels and transmits them to a person who has lost ability to hear. The device engages a unique algorithm allowing transformation of all sound data into tactile perceptions. The author of the method is Ilya Korenets, a third year student at the Don State Technical University.
The university is involved with the development and has already produced a test sample while the project itself will be presented at Donskaya Sborka 2018, the largest exhibition contest in the Russian south with a prize pool of RUR 800K ($12.5K).
“The device is intended for absolutely deaf people, and its initial tests have been quite successfull”, the developers explain.
If mass production of the device is launched, its price will be about RUR 10K ($155), Ilya Korenets believes.
Invest Foresight has reported about tests of an innovative vision device for blind people. Russia’s NexTouch develops a device which translates visual information into acoustic one. It is in fact a mini computer with a wide-angle camera, infrared sensors, and several headsets.