Cadence, GlobalFoundries, and several research teams from universities have created The Smart Hearing Aid Processor (SmartHeAP) The first SoC that can process sound from both ears at the same time.
Engineers are constantly working to develop technology that can make the lives of people better. Few fields are more likely to make this kind of impact than the medical sector. Hearing aids are a prime example. small piece of equipment which greatly helps millions who suffer from hearing loss.
Recently, a number of researchers and tech companies that includes Cadence, GlobalFoundries, Hoerzentrum Oldenburg as well as Leibniz University Hannover have come together to create afirst hearing aid that is binaural SoC. In this article, we’ll look at the latest SoC as well as the diverse contributions of each team which helped to make this technology feasible.
Hearing aid with a foldable PCB prototype. Screenshot taken with the permission of Cadence
The Binaural Hearing Aid SoC: A New Paradigm
The team who developed the hearing aid with the binaural system on chip (SoC) says that the device represents a significant advancement in the technology of hearing aids. Most hearing aids have been monoaural, analyzing only one ear at a time. This single-sided approach is not without its limitations, especially in noisy environments or where the source of the sound isn’t directly in the front to the wearer.
However, binaural hearing aids take sound input through both ears at once. They provide users with the ability to perceive audio and enhance the quality of localization of the sound sources. Yet, up to now, the technology that can integrate all of the essential components to create an earpiece with binaural components into one chip was not available.
A look at the different hearing aid designs. Image provided by Hearing
Specialists of Cadence, GlobalFoundries (GF), Horzentrum Oldenburg, and the Leibniz University Hannover came together to create SmartHeAP, a Smart Hearing Aid Processor (SmartHeAP) which is a unique Binaural Hearing Aid SoC said to have significant advantages in terms of size performance, power, and effectiveness.
According to a research paper about the prototype SmartHeAP, the SmartHeAP is a mixed-signal SoC made in a 22nm, fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) procedure that incorporates the adaptive body biasing (ABB) unit. With a total dimensions of 7.36 millimeters, it is a SoC that incorporates audio processing, advanced custom-designed instructions, Bluetooth low Energy, and an analog-based frontend with digital audio interfaces and a local memory of 2 MB. Based on the consensus that it is believed that the SoC has already demonstrated promising binaural operations, using less than 2.2 million mW in 50 MHz. This is equivalent to the efficiency at 34.8 uW/MHz.
Layout of the SmartHeAP SoC. Screenshot as a courtesy of Cadence
The Contributions of Each Team Member
Each team member brought their unique experience to the table while designing this hearing aid prototype. To process and connect, Cadence provided the Tensilica Fusion G6 DSP and the Xtensa LX7 processor to this SoC design. The SoC’s processing elements were built on these technologies and act as the central component of the SoC that is which is responsible for processing audio essential to the chip’s purpose.