AI-Powered Alarm for Deaf Users Wins UK James Dyson Award
Design student Gargi Agrawalla has won this year's UK James Dyson Award for SIVO.GO, a portable alerting device that uses artificial intelligence to warn deaf and hard-of-hearing users about important sounds such as knocks, doorbells and fire alarms, which they might otherwise miss. The award, announced by design publication Dezeen on 16 September, recognises the Loughborough University graduate's work in accessible product design.
SIVO.GO runs an algorithm trained on more than 500 sound samples so that it can distinguish between a range of noises and translate them into vibrations and flashing lights, rousing the user without relying on sound. The model runs locally on the device rather than through Wi-Fi or the cloud, which the designer says preserves user privacy and keeps the alarm working when there is no internet connection. Because testing showed the AI could confuse door knocking with similar sounds such as footsteps or tapping on a table, Agrawalla added a separate optional vibration sensor that can be mounted discreetly behind a door to detect knocking or forced entry.
Agrawalla designed the device from personal experience. Born profoundly deaf and fitted with a cochlear implant at age 12, she found that the implant's external sound processor has to be removed when sleeping or showering, leaving her uneasy in unfamiliar surroundings. She also found that existing alarms for hard-of-hearing users tend to be bulky, expensive and geared towards a single sound, forcing travellers to pack several devices. "I wanted to reduce that burden by creating one portable system that could cover several important alerts and give deaf and hard-of-hearing users more reassurance when away from home," she told Dezeen.
As UK winner of the James Dyson Award, Agrawalla receives a prize fund of 5,000 pounds to support the next stages of product development, including improving reliability, expanding trials with deaf and hard-of-hearing users, and working towards certification and pilot manufacture. She also enters contention for the international James Dyson Award, whose past winners have included a keyboard for people with Parkinson's disease and an anti-hair-loss helmet for chemotherapy patients.
The designer notes that the same kind of accessible alert system could serve people with tinnitus, neurodiverse users, exhausted new parents, older users, and even hearing people in situations where sound alone is not enough. Prototypes of SIVO.GO were produced using 3D printing.