“Hearables” startup company Bragi has a brand new project in the works called Project Ears currently being demonstrated as part of its Hearable Innovation Showcase at the ongoing CES 2018 expo. Interestingly, although previous devices from the company were centered around creating high-quality Bluetooth-enabled earbuds which included digital assistant integration, its new project could arguably be described as something a bit nobler. Instead of simply releasing a new version of its Dash, Dash Pro, or aptly-named The Headphone, the company is refocusing its efforts partially toward sound amplification and hearing enhancement. That’s a goal resulting from a collaborative agreement between Bragi and Germany-based Mimi Hearing Technologies which will run throughout 2018.
In fact, Bragi says Project Ears is already well into development and that the design and feel are similar to the Dash Series. As mentioned above but are designed to enhance hearing and provide relief for wearers who happen to suffer from tinnitus. True to Bragi tradition, however, nobody involved in the project is content to release just another hearing aid. Instead, the companies are focused on figuring out how to create personalized enhancement with a variety of selectable settings meant for use at home, the office, a job site, or during sporting events. There’s no word yet as to a timeline for completion since the company is still trying to work out the best way to approach the problem. With that said, Bragi has already announced successful incorporation of an accurate hearing test into the device itself. Completing that test creates what the company calls an “Earprint,” which is effectively a unique profile that will be used by Project Ears’ Mimi-created personalization technology. That, in turn, allows Project Ears to automatically configure settings without any additional interaction from the user – which means that they won’t need to fiddle with any switches or a smartphone to get things sounding just right.
Interestingly, the partnership is also looking well beyond standard uses for hearing solutions and, as described by the company, its an “open-ended possibility.” Not only could the headphones provide amplification of white noise in order to address ringing in the ears of users or selectively amplify various situations based on a user’s ear profile. Project Ears could also be used to protect a wearer’s ears from loud noise or bring forward sounds in the user’s surrounding environment on a selective basis – which could make it easier to have a conversation in noisy environments, for example. Unfortunately, there’s no telling when the solution could find its way out into the real world or whether all of the two companies’ aspirations will be able to incorporate into a single device for anybody to use in every plausible situation.