AI device for hearing impairment wins ‘Best of Innovation’ at CES 2020

Posted on January 12, 2020 by Design in Design Innovation | 0 Comments

According to the company, OrCam Hear is the world’s first AI-driven, wearable assistive technology device for people with hearing impairment.

It makes hearing aids smart by identifying and isolating a speaker’s voice – from among multiple speakers – and then relaying the clear speech to Bluetooth hearing aids, in real time, thereby solving the ‘cocktail party effect’.

A new class of wearable AI, OrCam Hear is an add-on that augments and integrates with hearing aids. The device combines lip reading with simultaneous voice source separation, intuitively switching between speakers who you choose to hear. Discreet, easy to wear, and lightweight, OrCam Hear operates completely offline – ensuring data privacy – with low power consumption in a very small form factor.

“We are truly honored that the CTA has distinguished OrCam Hear as one of the Best Innovations of CES 2020, in the Accessibility category,” said Prof. Amnon Shashua, OrCam Technologies Co-founder and Co-CEO. “

We deeply appreciate the recognition by the CTA of OrCam’s wearable assistive technologies’ ability to continue to transform people’s lives. With OrCam Hear, we pioneered the innovation as a versatile, effective solution for people who use hearing aids to seamlessly – and exclusively – hear the voice of their choosing in any type of environment, clearly and in real time.”

OrCam has established itself as a leader in wearable, AI-driven assistive technology with the development of the OrCam MyEye 2. Lightweight and the size of a finger, the artificial vision device discreetly reads printed and digital text aloud – from any surface – in real time.

Additional OrCam MyEye 2 features include instant face recognition and identification of consumer products, colours and money notes. The device is the only wearable artificial vision technology that is activated by an intuitive pointing gesture or simply by following the wearer’s gaze, without the need of a smartphone or WiFi.

OrCam MyEye 2 features to be demoed at CES 2020 include interactive reading/Natural Language Processing (NLP) as well as mobility. OrCam MyEye 2 was chosen as a 2019 TIME Best Invention, and was a Last Gadget Standing winner at CES 2018.