IIT Ropar scholars’ earphones make one aware of surroundings

PATIALA: In February 2018, six teenagers were run over by a speeding train while walking on the railway track. They had their earphones on, so they could not hear the approaching train. It was not the first such case. To avoid such incidents, research scholars at IIT Ropar have developed a low-cost smart earphones that would not only amplify the surrounding sounds, but will also merge it with the music audio signal. This would make the user aware of the surroundings even while listening to music, they say.
The research was conducted by Mitali Rathod, Ishika Soni and Lakshya under the guidance of professor Mahendra Sakare. The researchers named their project ‘Super Ears’. Professor Sakare said that with further research it would be possible to use the earphones for spying, too.
“The earphones have a microphone. With the help of different frequencies and tuning, they can be used to spy a particular person standing in a group of people making noises. These earphones can be controlled under which a particular sound can be enhanced by separating noise from the surroundings. Surrounding voices over earphone is nothing new. The uniqueness of this project is the ability to separate noises and listen to a particular one,” said prof Sakare.
“We tried to make such an instrument at lower cost. The material used in the project had cost only Rs 800,” said, Lakshya. The total cost of the project was only Rs 2,000.
One of the researchers, Rathod, said, “The user can also control the surrounding ‘noise’ or sounds by increasing or decreasing it. We conducted this research in December last year, but are yet to get it patented.”