People such as singers, public speakers, and teachers are at risk of damaging their vocal cords through excessive use. I’m here.
The setup is being developed by a “team of materials scientists, biomedical engineers, opera singers, and speech pathologists” led by Professor John A. Rogers at Northwestern University. It incorporates two of her devices, a sensor that adheres to the wearer’s suprasternal skin and a tactile feedback her unit that wears on the wrist. Both are wirelessly linked to an app on the user’s smartphone via her Bluetooth.
The sensor continuously detects the vibration of the wearer’s vocal cords, no External noise – send that measurement to the app. A machine-learning-based algorithm then processes the data to see the frequency, volume, amplitude, and duration of all user vocalizations, along with the time of day they occur. The algorithm also has over 95% accuracy in distinguishing between singing and speaking.
If the app determines that a person is getting dangerously close to a certain threshold you previously set, it will vibrate the haptic feedback unit to warn you. The user realizes that they need to be silent for a while or a little quieter at the end to give their vocal cords a rest. A 15- to 20-minute break is enough.
Northwestern University
The app’s display shows detailed information about the user’s vocal activity and recommendations for proper rest.And importantly, for those who value their privacy, the system is no Records user utterances.
“People tend to forget how much they’re using their voice,” says Teresa Brancaccio, a lecturer and voice expert in the Northwest who co-led the study. “Veteran classical singers, having lived and learned, tend to be more conscious of how they use their voice. […] Often they don’t realize how much they are pushing it. I want them to pay more attention to prevent injuries.”
A paper on this study was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: Northwestern University
