Listening Technology Lab opens at UIC
Aims to improve hearing assistive technology
Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Ryan Corey tests equipment in his newly opened Listening Technology Lab with students Rashen Fernando, Shiyu Liu, and Rajesh Rameshbabu. Corey, also a research scientist at the Discovery Partners Institute, studies audio and acoustic signal processing to improve the performance of assistive and augmentative hearing technology, especially in noisy environments. Corey, who has had hearing loss his whole life, said his research is driven by his personal experience–and frustration—with hearing assistive technology. Hearing aids are very small and they amplify all sounds, including background noise that can make it diffcult to follow a conversation. Corey’s research aims to make hearing aids work better in noisy places like restaurants. “Human sensory augmentation is a fascinating research area because it lies at the intersection of artifcial intelligence and human intelligence,” Corey said. “We need to design processing systems that complement, rather than merely imitate, human senses.