FINDING THE RIGHT FIT Virtual reality tech researchers selected for national innovation program U niversity of Louisville researchers are using virtual reality to help people with hearing disabilities discover which hearing aids will best help them encounter everyday situations, and their innovation is gaining traction in the real world. A UofL team comprised of School of Medicine research scientist Matthew Neal and his collaborators Pavel Zahorik and Shae Morgan, both in the audiology department, is developing a virtual reality-based technology to help patients test different models and program their hearing aids, without leaving the comfort of a clinical setting such as an audiologist’s office. With the tool developed by Neal, Zahorik and Morgan, audiologists could use a VR headset or a widescreen display to demonstrate how specific hearing aid models and settings would perform in different, realistic environments, such as a school, noisy restaurant, grocery store or church. The idea, Neal said, is to help patients find the right fit. The National Science Foundation selected the UofL researchers to join the NSF’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Teams, a prestigious innovation program that provides training and $50,000 to develop new, technology-backed startups. The UofL team completed an intensive, two-month boot camp learning about commercialization, engaging with industry and talking to more than 100 potential customers. Following the I-Corps national program, the researchers now are developing a working prototype and exploring various funding routes to continue research efforts and pursue commercialization of the technology. The team also is in a research partnership with both Heuser Hearing Institute, a local not-for-profit hearing health care organization, and Sonova, a hearing aid manufacturer. “We are proud that our decades-long partnership with the University of Louisville to further the field of audiology with cutting-edge hearing health care technology has led to this recognition,” said Heuser Hearing Institute CEO Brett Bachmann. To be nominated for the national I-Corps Teams bootcamp, teams must first complete UofL’s regional I-Corps site program and LaunchIt, UofL’s product innovation boot camp. UofL and partners recently received $15 million from the National Science Foundation to launch a new regional NSF Mid-South Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Hub, one of only 10 across the U.S. Getting to the CORE of the matter Center poised to help companies prepare for Industry 4.0 THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE launched a new Center for Organizational Readiness toward Enterprise 4.0 (CORE4.0) aimed at helping companies prepare for rapid change through smart and connected technology such as automation, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Backed by a new roughly $500,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the center will provide research, assessment, recommendations and workforce development to industries looking to adopt — or adapt to — the disruptive technology at the core of the fourth industrial revolution. UofL researcher Faisal Aqlan, who runs the center, said this revolution — also known as Industry 4.0 or Enterprise 4.0. — has the potential to radically transform many industries, and the benefits will go to companies that plan ahead. “Think of a smart factory, where all the machines can talk to each other and anticipate or even address problems,” said Aqlan, associate professor of industrial engineering at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering. “Similar changes have happened in logistics and health care, where smart, connected technologies have helped increase productivity and accuracy, lower labor costs; and improve safety. These technologies can greatly improve operations, but they have to be implemented correctly.” According to a recent Industry 4.0 organizational readiness survey by Deloitte, just 10% of companies had a long-range strategy for integrating these technologies – and those companies were innovating and growing faster. A full two-thirds of companies surveyed had no formal strategy at all. CORE4.0 will engage three industry sectors – manufacturing, logistics and health care – through partnership with Western Kentucky University, Metals Innovation Initiative and Louisville Healthcare CEO Council. “UofL and its partners represent significant earned experience and strength in each of these sectors, and with cutting-edge technology,” said Will Metcalf, a co-investigator and associate vice president in the Office of Research and Innovation. “We look forward to working with industry to leverage that strength to enter Industry 4.0.” SPRING 2023 13
University of Louisville Spring 2023: Page 13
