ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — As a motorcycle rider himself, Robin Murphy knows revving up a bike can be hard on the driver’s hearing.
He also understands the ability to hear isn’t something to take for granted. His mother has Usher syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that leads to hearing loss and visual impairment.
“From a really young age, I learned that hearing protection was important,” he explained. “Riding motorcycles, everyone knows you wear your protection. You put your helmet on. You wear your gloves and your boots and jacket, but a lot of people don’t consider that riding can damage your hearing.”
Driving at highway speeds has been found to cause serious hearing damage, with prolonged exposure to wind noises overworking small hairs inside the ear canal. This can cause cells around those hairs to die, which results in hearing damage.
"You put your helmet on. You wear your gloves and your boots and jacket, but a lot of people don’t consider that riding can damage your hearing.” — Robin Murphy
While there are ear protection options out there for motorcyclists, Murphy said those tend to eliminate all sounds. He considers that somewhat dangerous.
With that in mind, the Memorial University engineering student started a company two years ago. Audyse Technology, based in St. John’s, is using noise-cancelling technology to reduce harmful low- and mid-range frequencies.
“Every motorcycle helmet has speaker pockets for adding an after-market Bluetooth communication unit,” Murphy explained. “Basically, we just add it to the helmet and it uses active noise cancelling. Instead of cancelling all the noise, we target five different frequency ranges. They’re what we picked out as the most dangerous low-frequency noises for hearing damage.”
Adjustable settings
Noises above the chosen frequency range will still be allowed to move through the audio system directly to the user. Thus, a rider can still hear other sounds they need to be aware of. An accelerometer built into the system detects speed and adjusts noise cancellation accordingly.
“When you’re stopped, we actually amplify the noise outside to give you a bit more situational awareness,” Murphy said. “That way, when you’re stopped, you have a better understanding of what’s going on around you.”
In addition to noise cancellation, Audyse will offer a product with dual functionalities. The system will provide a Bluetooth audio connection for music. Audyse has signed a licensing agreement to use Sony’s LDAC audio coding technology for high-resolution audio.
Did you know that statistics have shown us that in just 15 minutes at highway speeds can cause serious and irreversible...
Posted by Audyse Technology on Saturday, January 30, 2021
The first prototype was developed in advance of the 2020 Mel Woodward Cup, a startup competition overseen by the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship (MCE). Audyse was among five finalists for last year’s event, and the company intends to compete again in 2021 for the top prize of $25,000.
“Since then, we’ve really been pushing our (product) development, as well as our marketing,” said Murphy.
Audyse just completed an advanced development module to test how it will work within the helmet and the size of the system, using 3D printers to model the enclosures and play with different designs. The company has taken advantage of MCE resources to do this work. Murphy said the MCE has been extra helpful given no one on the Audyse team comes from a business background.
“Right now, we’re developing our final product,” he said. “We’ve taken everything we’ve learned so far and we’re putting it into the package to make sure everything we want is there.”
Discussions with manufacturers have been ongoing, and the preliminary plan is to be ready for a production run of 500-to-1,000 units in 2022.
