AI Speech Enhancement and the Future of Hearables
ABSTRACT
Understanding speech in noise is the number 1 reported problem for hearing impaired people worldwide. Despite great signal processing advancements in the last 10 years, many people are still unsatisfied with how their hearables perform in this area. In our talk, we outline the speech enhancement problem for hearing aids and earbuds in noisy environments, explain how tight constraints limit what is possible, and show how our AI processors and speech enhancement algorithms are enabling large gains in background noise reduction, speech quality, and speech intelligibility. Finally, we look to the future of sensors in hearable devices, explaining how new sensors and algorithms are shaping the product definition of hearables and expanding the value offered to everyday users.
BIOGRAPHY
Jon works at the intersection of hardware, software, and business to shape femtoAI’s deep learning models and product integrations into a portfolio of scalable solutions that deliver real value to those using products built on femtoAI technology. After having studied Physics, Jon worked in several early-stage AI startups before meeting the founders of femtoAI through StartX, the startup accelerator affiliated with Stanford University. Since 2019, Jon has worked to define femtoAI’s go-to-market strategy through a mixture of literature review, competitive and market analysis, technical business development, and project/portfolio management. Jon has led across the organization to define, build, and expand femtoAI’s hearing health portfolio and continues to kindle new programs for biosensing and augmented reality. In his off time, you can find him in his kitchen, at the local pickleball courts, or “networking” at wineries in the Napa valley.