A UK-wide team including Heriot-Watt University researchers is creating innovative ‘hearing glasses’ that combine lip-reading technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing to improve how people with hearing loss hear speech in noisy environments. The project, called COG-MHEAR and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, is led by Edinburgh Napier University.

The device uses a small camera on glasses to track a speaker’s lip movements. Audio and visual data are sent via 5G to a cloud server, where AI separates the speaker’s voice from background noise. The enhanced sound is then streamed back to the user’s hearing aid or headphones almost instantly.

Professor Mathini Sellathurai from Heriot-Watt, co-leading the wireless 5G-cloud noise-cleaning aspect, said: “We’re not trying to reinvent hearing aids. We’re trying to give them superpowers. You simply point the camera or look at the person you want to hear. Even if two people are talking at once, the AI uses visual cues to extract the voice of the person you’re looking at.”

Current hearing aids often struggle in loud places like cafés or stations because of limited processing power. By shifting heavy computing to cloud servers, the team can apply advanced deep-learning algorithms without burdening the wearable device.

More than 1.2 million adults in the UK have significant hearing loss, making everyday conversations difficult. This new technology aims to break barriers, offering affordable, AI-driven hearing support to children, older adults, and others.

The researchers are developing a working prototype and engaging with hearing aid manufacturers to explore future partnerships. They are also gathering real-world noise samples to improve the system’s training.

Professor Sellathurai added: “There are only a few big companies that make hearing aids, and they have limited support in noisy environments. We want to break that barrier and help more people access affordable, AI-driven hearing support.”

The COG-MHEAR team includes experts from universities across the UK, working towards a device that could benefit not only those with hearing impairments but anyone working in noisy settings such as oil rigs or hospitals.