Piezoelectric nanofiber–based intelligent hearing system
Jinke Chang, Thomas Maltby, Amirbahador Moineddini, Daqian Shi, Lei Wu, Jishizhan Chen, Jianshu Yu, Jeffrey Hung, Giuseppe Viola, A. Vilches, Wenhui Song
Abstract
Hearing loss, affecting individuals of all ages, can impair education, social function, and quality of life. Current treatments, such as hearing aids and implants, aim to mitigate these effects but often fall short in addressing the critical issue of accurately pinpointing sound sources. We report an intelligent hearing system inspired by the human auditory system: asymmetric well-aligned piezoelectric nanofibers combined with neural networks to mimic natural auditory processes. Piezoelectric nanofibers with spirally varying lengths and directions transmit and convert acoustic sound into mechanoelectrical signals, mimicking the complex cochlear dynamics. These signals are then encoded by digital neural networks, enabling accurate sound direction recognition. This intelligent hearing system surpasses human directional hearing, accurately recognizing sound directions horizontally and vertically. The advancement represents a substantial stride toward next-generation artificial hearing, harmonizing transduction and perception with a nature-inspired design. It promises for applications in hearing aids, wearable devices, and implants, offering enhanced auditory experiences for those with hearing impairments.