Communications of the ACM
Vest Helps Deaf Feel, Understand Speech
David Eagleman and Scott Novich of Rice University adjust the Versatile Extra-Sensory Transducer, a vest that communicates sound to the brain.
Credit: The Washington Post
Rice University computer and electrical engineering students are developing a vest that will enable deaf people to sense and understand speech. The vest is embedded with dozens of actuators that vibrate in specific and very complex patterns to represent words.
The low-cost and non-invasive Versatile Extra-Sensory Transducer (VEST) responds to input from a smartphone or tablet app and converts that input into tactile vibration patterns on the user's torso. Haptic feedback takes the place of auditory input. An algorithm enables the VEST to "hear" only the human voice and screen out distracting sounds. In addition to the actuators, the system includes a controller board and two batteries.
With training, the brains of deaf people will adapt to the translation process. "As they use the vest more, they get feedback and know whether they are right or wrong and start to memorize patterns," notes VEST algorithm developer Scott Novich. "People are able to identify words they have never encountered before."
From Rice University
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