Research
Research at CRITIAS
For more than a decade, the ÉTS-EERS Industrial Research Chair in In-Ear Technologies (CRITIAS) has focused on developing technologies for the human ear, “intelligent” hearing protection and communication in noise, ranging from the integration of in-ear brain-computer interfaces to on-board hearing diagnosis, and including fundamental studies related to neuro-sensory stimulation and micro-energy harvesting, working in collaboration with experts in their respective fields.
Areas of research
The Chair’s research activities are primarily focused on five areas:
Hearing protection:
- Passive hearing protection
- Adjustment testing
- Sound reproduction
- In-ear dosimetry
- Digital audio filtering
- Active noise control
- Oto-acoustic emissions
Ear Cartography sozi PROTECTION
Ear Cartography sozi AIDE
Communication in noise:
- Hearing devices
- Speech capture
Biosensing
- Measurement of biosignals
- Measurement of ambient and medical conditions
- Dynamic measurements
- Physiological sensors
- Deformation of the ear canal
- Electrophysiology
The video opens on a series of circular pictograms arranged in a circle, with colors blending from orange to violet through pink.
The camera zooms in on a pictogram displaying a heart crossed by a wave.
It then moves to another pictogram showing an ear and a thermometer, next to the Rod of Asclepius entwined with a serpent, the symbol of medicine.
The sequence then shifts to a third pictogram, depicting a tilted human head surrounded by arrows suggesting left-to-right movement.
A fourth pictogram shows a human head crossed by waves.
A fifth pictogram displays an ear with arrows on either side, pointing to the right and left respectively.
Finally, a last pictogram shows a human head crossed by multiple waves.
Ear Cartography sozi BIOSIGNAUX
Ear Cartography sozi STIMULATION2
Stimulation
- Electrical stimulation
- Light stimulation
- Mechanical stimulation
- Thermal stimulation
- Magnetic stimulation
Energy harvesting
- Micro-energy harvesting
A series of colorful pictograms arranged in a circle appears, forming a color gradient ranging from orange to violet, passing through shades of pink.
The camera zooms in on one of them, showing a battery connected to a human head icon.
The camera then zooms out to reveal the full set of pictograms again.
Ear Cartography sozi GRAPILLAGE
Benefits of the Chair’s activities
- Development of the knowledge and technologies required for the creation of a bionic earpiece that can become a true brain-computer interface. The earpiece will integrate all of the functionalities necessary to accomplish the following into a unique system:
- Protect the wearer against harmful noises while enhancing the perception of speech and useful signals;
- Allow for in-ear communication: Sending and receiving within the same ear;
- Allow for the measurement of physiological signals within an occluded ear, along with the measurement of brain waves through electroencephalography (EEG).
- Integration of technologies developed by the Chair into the EERS SonoFit® solution (earmold that instantly adjusts to the wearer’s ear).
- Development of innovative hearing products for the general public and the industrial, military and medical markets.
- The fit-testing technology produced by the initial collaboration between Sonomax and ÉTS has now been commercialized worldwide by 3M, an American multinational company, and is enjoying ongoing technological and commercial success. This individual fit-testing technology was recognized in 2008 by US federal agencies as an “Emerging Trend” in the NIOSH-NHCA-OSHA Alliance Best Practice Bulletin, and 3M has regularly won awards over the years, including the prestigious Occupational Health & Safety New Product of the Year Award in 2015 for their rebranded “EARfit” fit-testing system. The fit-testing approach to hearing protectors dramatically modified hearing conservation practices in North America over recent years, and is now part of most hearing-loss prevention programs around the world, protecting tens of million workers on a daily basis.
The video opens on a digital mannequin head wearing a helmet.
The head rotates, now shown in profile, and the camera zooms in on one of the ear cups covering the mannequin’s ear.
A blue-colored mechanism is activated on the ear cup positioned over the ear.
The camera zooms in on the mechanism inserted inside the ear. A cable is connected to an earplug located inside the ear canal. Air is delivered through this cable, causing the earplug inside the ear to inflate.
Once the operation is complete, the helmet detaches from the earplug and is removed from the head.
Next, a wire is attached to the earplug inserted in the ear.
Sonomax proprietary "self-fit" technology.