Assistive Listening System for Lecture Halls Taps Smartphone Usage -- Campus Technology

Breaking News

Assistive Listening System for Lecture Halls Taps Smartphone Usage

By Dian Schaffhauser
02/16/17

A Germany-based AV company with global operations has released a new system that delivers assistive listening over WiFi to a student's smartphone. Sennheiser introduced MobileConnect during the recent Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2017 conference, which took place in Amsterdam last week. The product works over existing wireless infrastructure and allows the user a choice of smart device and headphones to listen to audio via a free app.

Here's how it works: Once the user downloads the app to a smartphone or tablet, he or she connects to the MobileConnect network within the venue, starts the app and chooses the hearing support channel. The app lets the user adjust the sound to suit personal needs through a "personal hearing assistant." The venue installs Sennheiser directional microphones in the space. The signals from those mics are routed to a "ConnectStation," which sends the sound back into the space to be heard through the wireless network, letting users pick up the audio signal via their smart devices using Ethernet. The technology is compatible with hearing aids, cochlear implants and earphones.

The system was developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute, a national applied research organization that conducts its activities through 69 institutes and research units around Germany.

"MobileConnect utilizes existing network technologies and a 'bring your own device' approach," said Xenios Maroudas, the portfolio manager of business communication, in a prepared statement. "The system thus reduces the total cost of ownership for organizations such as universities by removing barriers to being able to offer a genuinely practical to the needs of hearing impaired students."

The MobileConnect app is available in the Apple AppStore and Google Play.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

E-Mail this page

Printable Format

Featured

Boosting Student Engagement with Interactive and Practical Teaching Methods

Traditional teaching methods like slide-to-slide PowerPoint presentations no longer engage students in the way they used to. Here's how one educator developed engaging, interactive methods to help students grasp complex concepts.
Juniper Launches AI-Native Networking and Security Management Platform

Juniper Networks has introduced a new solution that integrates security and networking management under a unified cloud and artificial intelligence engine.
Western Governors University Acquires Craft Education to Advance Work-Based Learning Pathways

Western Governors University has announced the acquisition of Craft Education, an ed tech platform for managing job training aligned with degree programs and work-ready skills.
Report: Increasing Number of Vulnerabilities in OpenVPN

OpenVPN, a popular open source virtual private network (VPN) system integrated into millions of routers, firmware, PCs, mobile devices and other smart devices, is leaving users open to a growing list of threats, according to a new report from Microsoft.