Postech Academy-industry Foundation

Seong Eun Cho

Hong June Park

Dong Hee Yeo

Hyeon Kyu Noh

Young Jin Jang

Kyeong Won Jeong

Ki Hwan Sung

Won Cheol Lee

Sang Hu Park

Young Jae Jang

Im Soo Mok

The present invention relates to a smartphone-based hearing aid which does not employ a separate power supply or digital signal processing device and instead has an analogue interface unit, configured with a single integrated circuit chip, connected between a plurality of microphones and a smartphone, thereby realizing a compact size, reducing the cost and enhancing the audio performance. Instead of employing a digital signal processing chip which is essentially used in the existing hearing aids or personal sound amplifiers, the smartphone-based hearing aid according to the present invention utilizes components such as a smartphone-embedded application processor (AP), RAM, digital-analogue converter, speaker and display and is therefore affordable. In particular, if a CPU and a GPU which are embedded in the application processor of the smartphone are utilized, digital signal processing necessary for the operation of the hearing aid can be performed within a short time of milliseconds (ms) just by using software.

Smartphone-based hearing aid

The present invention relates to a microphone with a specific audible area using ultrasound wave, which emits an ultrasound wave toward a sound source positioned in a specific area within a desired distance and a desired direction from the microphone, and extracts a sound signal in an audible frequency range, generated by the sound source, from an ultrasound wave reflected and received from the sound source. The microphone with a specific audible area using ultrasound wave can limit the audible area to an area within a specific angle from a half line starting from the microphone and a specific distance from the microphone, such that a user can selectively hear a desired sound in a noisy environment. When the microphone is applied to a hearing aid, the user can hear only the audible sound generated by the sound source located within the specific audible area in front of the user with the surrounding noise removed.

Microphone with specific audible area using ultrasound wave

Disclosed is a hearing aid attached to a mobile electronic device. Elements forming the hearing aid are separated into a main hearing aid device and a sub-hearing aid device. The main hearing aid device is attached to the casing of a mobile electronic device and connected to the mobile electronic device through a wired cable, and the sub-hearing aid device is placed in an ear of a user. Other people rarely notice that a user uses the hearing aid because the main hearing aid device is mounted on the casing of a mobile electronic device. The hearing aid is supplied with power from the battery of the mobile electronic device, and has the same size as the casing of the mobile electronic device. Accordingly, a beamforming operation through a microphone array is possible, and use convenience and a level of satisfaction of the hearing aid can be improved.

Hearing aid attached to mobile electronic device

Growing community of inventors

Pohang-si, South Korea

Seong Eun Cho