Presenting their wearable prototype virtually to the Empower 2025 conference at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi to a panel of leading experts in assistive and accessible technology where they were amongst 40 other competing teams, the students' began their work by researching current trends and pinpointing critical issues faced by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, including high cost, poor reliability, and technical limitations such as battery life.
The resulting solution, a dedicated smartwatch, tackles these issues by alerting wearers to essential sounds such as the doorbell, fire alarms, and alarm clocks. The watch listens to the environment and detects these sounds, then notifies the wearer through haptic (vibration) feedback and an on-screen alert system. Crucially, this device can also be produced at a fraction of the cost of current models on the market.
The device was developed in three key stages: consulting with people with hearing loss for feedback, creating a functional prototype, and building a versatile companion app for both Android and iOS devices that was able to provide users the ability to configure which alerts they would receive based on their preferences. User testing and feedback was essential to the development of the watch where ideas such as adding flash alerts, implementing adjustable settings, improving battery life as well as looking at water proofing for future iterations were suggested.
Mechanical Engineering student James Emre Midmer (Team Lead) and Computer Science students Yanki G Kirlikova (Watch Software Development), Yagmur Onal (App software and machine learning integration) and Irmak Akman (App software and machine learning integration) are behind the invention and they are currently focusing on product improvement, developing a strategy for market entry and maintaining a robust cycle of feedback through collaborations with local charities such as Rotherham Sight and Sound.
James Emre Midmer, Team Lead (watch software development), said: “Our presentation went very well and we received a standing ovation for our Hear4Me watch as the audience was very interested in our device. We were so excited to achieve second place at an international level assistive technology design competition, especially as the only UK team who made the shortlist!”
Yanki G Kirlikova said: “We've had great feedback from Rotherham Sight and Sound, confirming high user interest. Crucially, at only £35, our product offers essential support at a fraction of the cost of most assistive tech and we are now focused on further refinement and bringing this affordable solution to the market.”
Dr Pete Mylon, Academic Lead for the iForge and Student-Led Activities in Engineering, said: “Empower is India’s biggest assistive tech event and is sponsored by Google, Microsoft, and other major organisations so to have one of our student teams not only be selected to present, but come second in an international competition shows how gifted our students are. The Hear4Me device is innovative because it combines the portability of a consumer smartwatch with dedicated, specific sound recognition and an affordable price point compared to many specialised, multi-component assistive technology systems.”
View the virtual Hear4Me presentation.
The Empower student-led design challenge is an international competition where student teams design and develop innovative, affordable, and practical solutions in the field of assistive technology. Find out more.
