Beyond Noise: mpWAV Innovative Technology Enhances Voice Recognition in Real-world Environments

 Audio and voice processing have seen immense progress in the past decade, and the introduction of Deep Learning AI machine learning promises that we should expect more in the future. However, it is also evident that what we have today is good but simply not yet good enough.mpWAV (official site) is a startup that aims to significantly improve voice processing and recognition by making it easier for both humans and machines to hear people’s voices better. Their solution revolves around extracting human voice signals from any noisy environment. Once the voice has been cleanly extracted, the new signal can be utilized to help users with hearing difficulties or provide better input to machine voice interfaces.mpWav provides both hardware and software to solve this difficult task. Their hardware consists of an array of two to eight microphones. How many there are depends on the maximum device size allowed, but suffice to say that the more, the better. However, it only takes a couple to make things work well.They use multiple microphones and the principle of beam-forming to zero in on a precise sound emitter (person who speaks) to extract that particular signal while ignoring others from elsewhere. The tuning can be efficiently specialized since human voices are on a relatively known band.As several microphones in the array pick up sound from slightly different locations, the data can be utilized to reconstruct a clean soundwave and increase the signal strength (audio energy can be integrated/cumulated) as each microphone contributes to the overall sound input power. The technology works so well that it can extract people’s voices even though a movie sound is in the background. Locations like cafes or concerts are also good use cases. But teleconferencing may become one of their largest businesses as it’s possible to use a Zoom virtual sound driver to remove unwanted noise.Retail locations might be another avenue for this technology since many places, such as bus or train stations, feature a glass-separated booth with a 2-way microphone/speaker setup to communicate.How mpWAV can help people with hearing discomfort in their daily lives. These are individuals who have experienced some degree of hearing loss but who do not want to wear medical-grade hearing aids.Instead, they can now use the ClearSense Audio app with their personal earbuds (Note that the app might not be available in the various app markets yet.). The app will significantly reduce the ambient noise and only capture the voices of people talking to you. I’m convinced that consumer-level devices and software will eventually up-end the current “medical hearing aid” market.Even if you don’t experience hearing loss, this could be useful because you’re in a noisy place.  The live demonstration I got to try was very convincing, and I’m looking forward to testing it on my phone during a conference, flight, or helicopter ride to push it to its limits. However, you don’t need to go to such extremes to benefit from this technology. Smart Homes or Automotive applications are far from perfect today regarding voice commands. They could benefit from a boost in capabilities.The prospects of this company are very promising as it solves the difficulty of “hearing people” in very challenging environments for humans and machines. Their intellectual property is protected by patents that might make mpWave a larger player in this space or even possibly an acquisition target someday. Go to see related articles : https://www.ubergizmo.com/2024/01/beyond-noise-mpwav-innovative-technology-enhances-voice-recognition-in-real-world-environments/ 

MPWave, honored with two innovation awards at CES 2024… “‘ClearSense Audio’ helps hearing through an app, making only the sounds you want clearer”

 MPWave received innovation awards in two categories, ‘Mobile Devices, Accessories & Apps’ and ‘Digital Health’, at CES 2024 through ‘ClearSense Audio’, which helps with hearing assistance as an application. | Provided by – MPWave MPWave Co., Ltd. (CEO Park Hyung-min) announced that it received the Innovation Award at CES 2024, which will be held in Las Vegas, USA from Tuesday, January 9 to Friday, January 12, next year (local time).At MPWave, Professor Park Hyeong-min of Sogang University, who has accumulated over 25 years of rich research experience in the field of voice enhancement and voice recognition, and other related researchers have succeeded in developing key source technologies related to voice enhancement and voice recognition at a level that can be used in complex noise environments in the real world. It is a startup established to commercialize a product.According to the company, hearing aids, smart homes, smart cars, home appliances, robots, kiosks and voice chat, and various conference systems are innovative hearing aids based on multi-channel acoustic echo cancellation, beamforming, signal separation, and robust voice recognition technology. It provides comprehensive hardware and software solutions related to various voice interfaces. At this exhibition, MPWave plans to actively introduce ‘ClearSense Audio’. ClearSense Audio is a groundbreaking mobile application that goes beyond simply replacing hearing aids to alleviate the hearing loss problem of the hearing impaired and helps the general public hear the sounds they want in noisy situations.An MPWave official said, “We learned that many middle-aged people are enduring many inconveniences in their daily lives, such as having difficulty communicating with others due to various surrounding noises due to hearing loss.” “We noted that even people with hearing loss who not only have hearing loss but also need hearing aids are reluctant to wear hearing aids due to exposure, excessive auditory stimulation due to sound amplification, and price,” he said. ‘ClearSense Audio’ representative image | Provided by – MPWave To solve this problem, MPWave developed a technology that selectively removes noise without distortion of the sound you want to hear when and where the user is exposed to a noisy acoustic environment using the user’s smartphone and earphones.Regarding this, an official added, “This product solves the fundamental problems of hearing aids and was developed in the form of an inexpensive app so that the general public can receive hearing assistance without burden at any time when needed.”At this CES 2024, MPWave received innovation awards in two categories, ‘Mobile Devices, Accessories & Apps’ and ‘Digital Health’, in recognition of improving the quality of life of users and realizing social value.An MPWave official said, “Because this solution is not affected by language characteristics, it can quickly enter overseas markets without major barriers. “We will introduce ‘ClearSense Audio’ and prove its excellence through a live demonstration at CES 2024, where people from all over the world will participate,” he said. “The official launch is expected as early as the first half of next year. “After launch, we will develop the app to continuously satisfy users’ needs through user feedback, and we are also discussing the launch of various application products through collaboration with partners who require voice interface-related hardware and software technology.”‘ClearSense Audio’ description image | Provided by – MPWave Meanwhile, ‘CES’, the world’s largest IT exhibition hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), is an exhibition that provides insight into the trends of the global home appliance industry at a glance and is held every January in Las Vegas, USA. AVING News, which has covered CES for 18 consecutive years, has reported CES news around the world every year since 2006, and has been selected through ‘BEST OF CES’ and ‘BEST OF MADE IN KOREA’, which select the best innovative products, companies and technologies. has been in progress. In addition, CES on-site issues are vividly conveyed through ‘AVING LIVE’.The CES 2024 Seoul Unified Hall will be operated at the largest scale in terms of exhibition area, number of participating companies, and number of participating supporters since Seoul City’s first participation in CES in 2020. The Seoul Integration Center, in which 13 organizations collaborate and participate, is an important step in Seoul’s efforts to make Seoul a mecca for startups, and 17 of the companies participating in the Seoul Integration Center proved this by receiving innovation awards. The participating institutions in the Seoul Unification Center are ▲SBA ▲Seoul Bio Hub ▲Campus Town ▲AI Yangjae Hub ▲Gwanak-gu ▲Yonsei University ▲Korea University ▲Chung-Ang University ▲Sogang University ▲Kookmin University ▲Hanyang University ▲Konkuk University ▲Kyunghee University. Not only the Seoul Metropolitan Government, institutions, and companies, but also supporters through industry-academia cooperation are matched 1:1 with companies, and 85 supporters, the largest number, will participate.* Special reporters: Joseph Choe, Kidai Kim, Dongkwan Kim, Mokkyung Lee, Sangun Choi, Seung Hyun Nam, Sunghwan Kim, Taeuck Lim, Min Choi→ Go to the CES 2024 news special pageGo to see related articles : https://madeinkoreanews.com/30117/ 

mpWAV Receives 2 Innovation Awards at CES 2024 with“ClearSense Audio” – Helps Hearing Aid Even Through an App Clarifying Preferred Sounds Only

https://us.aving.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=50548 mpWAV (CEO Hyung-Min Park) announced that they have received innovation awards at CES 2024, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, USA, from January 9th (Tuesday) to 12th (Friday) local time.mpWAV is a startup founded by a team led by Professor Hyung-Min Park from Sogang University, accumulating over 25 years of rich research experience in the fields of voice enhancement and speech recognition, aiming to develop and commercialize core foundational technologies that are applicable in real-world complex, noisy environments.According to the company, based on multi-channel acoustic echo cancellation, beamforming, signal separation, and robust speech recognition technology, they offer comprehensive hardware and software solutions for various voice interface-related applications, including hearing aids revolutionizing auditory assistance devices, smart home devices, smart cars, home appliances, robots, kiosks, voice chat systems, and more.At this exhibition, mpWAV is planning an active introduction to ‘ClearSense Audio.’ ClearSense Audio is a revolutionary mobile application that goes beyond simple hearing aid functions to alleviate hearing impairments and helps the general public hear desired sounds clearly in noisy environments.A mpWAV representative stated, “We became aware that many middle-aged and older individuals experience significant discomfort in daily life due to various surrounding noises affecting communication.” They added, “Many of them neither have severe hearing loss nor prefer wearing hearing aids due to concerns such as exposing the appearance of wearing hearing aids, excessive auditory stimulation from sound amplification, and the cost.”To address these issues, mpWAV developed technology that uses the user’s smartphone and earphones to selectively eliminate noise in noisy sound environments, enabling the user to hear only the desired sounds without distortion.The representative further explained, “This product not only solves the fundamental problems of hearing aids but also has been developed as an affordable app, enabling anyone to receive auditory assistance without any burden when needed.”At CES 2024, mpWAV received innovation awards in the ‘Mobile Devices, Accessories & Apps’ and ‘Digital Health’ categories, acknowledging its improvement in users’ quality of life and achieving social value.The mpWAV representative mentioned, “This solution is unaffected by language characteristics, allowing us to enter overseas markets without significant barriers. At CES 2024, attended by people worldwide, we will introduce ‘ClearSense Audio’ through live demonstrations to prove its excellence.” They continued, “We anticipate an official launch in the early half of next year. After the release, we will continue to evolve the app based on user feedback to satisfy needs continuously. We are also discussing various application product releases through collaboration with partner companies requiring hardware and software technology related to voice interfaces.”CES, the world’s largest IT exhibition organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), is held in Las Vegas every January, providing a comprehensive view of global home appliance industry trends. AVING News, covering CES for 18 consecutive years, has been selecting the best innovative products, companies, and technologies and conducting ‘BEST OF CES’ and ‘BEST OF MADE IN KOREA’ selections. Additionally, through ‘AVING LIVE,’ they provide live coverage of CES issues.The CES 2024 Seoul Pavilion is being operated on the most historical scale since Seoul’s first participation in CES in 2020, with the largest exhibition area, number of participating companies, and supporter numbers. The Seoul Pavilion, which has collaborated with 13 institutions, is essential in Seoul’s endeavors to establish itself as a startup hub. Among the participating companies in the Seoul Pavilion, 17 received innovation awards, proving their capabilities. Participating institutions include SBA, Seoul Bio Hub, Seoul Campus Town, Yangjae Innovation Hub, Gwanak-gu, Yonsei University, Korea University, Chung-Ang University, Sogang University, Kookmin University, Hanyang University, and Kyunghee University, totaling 13. Seoul City and institutions and supporters participating in industry-academic cooperation are matched 1:1 with companies, with a maximum of 85 supporters participating.

ClearSense Audio receives AccessABILITY Awards for CES 2024 by USA TODAY’s product review site, Reviewed

https://reviewed.usatoday.com/accessibility/features/reviewed-accessability-awards-ces-2024-winners mpWAV ClearSense Audio The ClearSense Audio app filters out background noise and feeds only the voices you need to hear directly into your headphones. The app is simple and intuitive to use, and it’s easy to toggle the noise cancelling function on and off as your environment and hearing needs change. - Imagn / Kirby Lee.

Winning 1st place in the 3rd competition of the 2022 Artificial Intelligence Grand Challenge

On November 24, 2022, the ‘2022 Artificial Intelligence Grand Challenge Competition’ award ceremony was held at KINTEX.VARCO team, including mpWAV, took 1st place in the 3rd competition.The ‘Artificial Intelligence Grand Challenge’ is a challenge/competition in which participants compete based on preliminary research conducted voluntarily to solve the presented problem.Initially, the 1st (’17) and 2nd (’18) competitions were held for a single year, but they were expanded and reorganized as multi-year competitions from 2019 for technological advancement.The 3rd competition, which mpWAV participated in, began with the 1st stage competition (preliminary) in July 2019 under the theme of “Utilizing artificial intelligence and robotics to solve various missions that arise in complex disaster situations”, followed by the final 4th stage competition in November 2022. A total of 175 teams and 935 people participated.In the final competition, by using an unmanned mobile vehicle (drone) to collect and utilize video, audio information, photos sent by rescuers, and text information to report, etc. in the building, the ability to perform missions to identify the location, number, and location of rescuers is competed. and the VARCO team to which mpWAV belonged won the final championship.