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HEStaff exchange2023–2027

SAV · Spatial Audio Virtualization and Gamification for Hearing Assessment and Enhancement

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2023-10-01 → 2027-09-30
EU contribution
€496,800
Participants
10
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-SE

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Spatial Audio Virtualization and Gamification for Hearing Assessment andEnhancement

The SAV (Spatial Audio Virtualization and Gamification for Hearing Assessment and Enhancement) project addresses a crucial gap in current auditory testing and training approaches. Traditional hearing assessments often fail to capture the complex, real-world listening scenarios that people face daily, such as conversing in busy environments or understanding speech with multiple background voices. These limitations mean that hearing assessments do not always reflect the true challenges individuals encounter, leading to incomplete or inadequate support, especially for those with hearing impairments. To overcome these challenges, SAV combines virtual reality (VR) and gamification to develop innovative, immersive tools that better simulate real-life auditory environments. By incorporating VR and game-like elements into training and testing, SAV aims to increase user engagement and enhance the learning transfer from training in the lab to everyday life. This approach not only mirrors the dynamic nature of actual hearing environments but also engages neural processes essential for speech and spatial perception. Through collaborations among European and international institutions specializing in cognitive neuroscience, auditory modeling, and VR technology, the project is building a suite of virtual and gamified modules. These will be integrated into existing auditory assessment tools like the Portable Automated Rapid Testing (PART) app. SAV’s goal is to improve hearing assessment accuracy, deepen our understanding of auditory perception mechanisms, and enhance applications that can significantly benefit those with hearing challenges. The SAV project’s potential impact spans health, cognitive neuroscience, and technological innovation, creating tools that not only address individual hearing needs but also set new standards for assessment and training protocols in clinical and everyday settings.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Auditory perception can be both challenging and rewarding. In a noisy crowded restaurant, listeners must quickly recalibrate their perception to the acoustic characteristics of the room and constantly switch attention to new speakers throughout a conversation. At the same time, the listening experience is motivating, e.g., when participating in an interesting conversation or enjoying the sounds of the surrounding environment. A major challenge in auditory neuroscience is that the laboratory training procedures and testing tools used to assess hearing abilities are neither rewarding nor representative of the multifaceted experiences of real-world auditory scenes. The goal of the current grant is to use virtual reality and computer game technologies to create advanced tools and models for accurately assessing auditory abilities and their underlying neural mechanisms, and for enhancing them in people with normal and impaired hearing. First, a series of experimental studies will be performed to determine 1) how to achieve a strong percept of externalization in virtual environments, 2) how virtualization can improve our understanding of the cognitive factors that influence performance on auditory perceptual tasks, and 3) how gamified training in virtual environments can enhance spatial and speech perception. Then, models will be developed to describe how gamification and virtualization influence auditory perception in the examined tasks. The results will be used to develop new modules for existing auditory assessment and enhancement tools - “PART” and “Listen” - which were developed by members of the consortium. Finally, workshops will be organized to train new researchers in the use of virtualization and gamification in auditory neuroscience, and to share and disseminate the new results of the project.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERZITA PAVLA JOZEFA SAFARIKA V KOSICIACH · KosiceCoordinatorSlovakia
  • Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging · CharlestownUnited States
  • ECOLE NATIONALE DES TRAVAUX PUBLICS DE L'ETAT · Vaulx En VelinFrance
  • MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY · SydneyAustralia
  • NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY · Boston MaUnited States
  • OESTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN · WienAustria
  • OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · Portland, OregonUnited States
  • PANEPISTIMIO THESSALIAS · VOLOSGreece
  • THE TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY · BOSTON MAUnited States
  • UNIVERZA V MARIBORU · MariborSlovenia

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union