Wolverine .. Google's Secret Project for the SuperHearing Scholarship
Google is working on a new project codenamed Wolverine, which is a wearable device that gives users superhuman hearing.
The company confirmed the top-secret technology for the Business Insider news site, saying it has been working on an in-ear device with sensors since 2018.
The team revealed that the device allows users to focus on one specific speaker in a crowd as conversations overlap.
The team is currently trying to figure out how to isolate the voices of people in a crowded room or make it easier to focus on one person when overlapping conversations occur around you.
Project Wolverine's goals are closely aligned with those of Whisper, a startup that last fall developed a new, AI-enhanced audio system that improves over time.
Wolverine is designed with highly sensitive microphones that work via powerful algorithms that can identify who is speaking in order to block additional noise.
The project's name, Wolverine, appears to refer to the iconic Marvel character who has supernatural abilities, however, it is unclear whether the device retains the iconic name when it is released to the public.
Over the past years, the team has produced multiple prototypes of an in-ear device that can help the wearer isolate a specific sound in a crowded room.
The prototypes covered the entire ear, but the latest models became smaller, and a Google spokesman said: The company is exploring the future of hearing aids, but refused to provide details about the project.
The team also looks at the device not just as a single form factor, but as a successful business with multiple devices and models.
However, Google is not alone in this project. Facebook announced in 2020 that its research lab is working on developing voice enhancement technology.
The social media company aims to improve voice presence, as the sounds from speakers, headphones, or other devices cannot be distinguished from a source in the real world.
Researchers are developing perceptual superpowers, a technology that adjusts background noise and allows focus on the person speaking by tracking the user's eye movements.
By analyzing eye and head movements, Facebook's AR glasses with built-in amplifiers can determine what you're trying to hear and cancel outside noise.
We are exploring new technologies that can expand, protect and enhance your hearing ability, giving you the ability to focus more, while allowing you to seamlessly interact with the people and information you care about, explains Tony Miller, head of device research at Facebook.