MEGA

In-ear communication systems with good playback quality and noise cancellation are now standard in many professional applications. For example, musicians on big stages wear in-ear monitoring systems, and people working in noisy environments are required to wear hearing protection. In addition to protecting hearing, the passive noise reduction in these systems ensures that the sound of instruments and vocals on stage, as well as external noises, remain audible to the wearer. However, this can also reduce the feeling of interacting with the environment. Passive noise reduction increases at high frequencies in particular, causing external sounds such as cheering crowds or warning tones from machines to sound muffled and unnatural. The same applies to the body's own sounds due to the closed ear canal (occlusion effect).

The “MEGA” project aims to develop a customizable in-ear communication system with excellent “acoustic comfort.” Researchers are working to regulate the occlusion effect with the help of innovative earpiece geometries. A bus system and plug connection will make it easy to exchange components so that different markets and functions can be served in the best possible way.

Responsibilities of Fraunhofer IDMT-HSA

In a separate subproject, Fraunhofer IDMT in Oldenburg is dedicated to developing algorithms for a high-quality, customizable transparency mode. The aim is to enable the reproduction of external sound in the in-ear system to be reduced in overall volume without distortion and to be adjusted according to individual preferences, e.g., for the reproduction of speech, instruments, and other sounds, or even to specific needs in the case of hearing loss. Unlike most solutions on the market, the developments in the “MEGA” project take into account that each person has individual hearing preferences and individual loudness perception. Ensuring particularly low playback latency, optimal speech pickup, and an intuitive user interface are also part of the researchers' tasks. Another important part of the project is the optimal processing of one's own speech for communication with other people. This involves the use of artificial intelligence algorithms that enable clear communication even in very difficult acoustic situations.