AFRL Helps Identify Intelligent Communication and Hearing Protection System

  • Published
  • By Materials & Manufacturing Directorate
  • AFRL/ML
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  AFRL researchers assisted the US Army's Rapid Equipping Force (REF) in identifying an adaptive intelligent communication and hearing protection system designed to enhance military operations and make hostile environments less dangerous for US ground forces. The new, lightweight technology--known as QuietPro™--protects against acoustic trauma, an injury to inner ear hearing mechanisms caused by excessively loud noise. Technical evaluations and demonstrations, combined with performance and production quality assessments, indicate the new system is a high-quality product, comparable to high-quality hearing aids and noise reduction headphones. 

Tests show the device not only safeguards soldiers from sizable acoustic events, but also improves field communications and ambient noise detection. The QuietPro technology provides active noise reduction, peak noise limits, blast protection, and improved field communications in one package. The Marine Corps and Special Operations Command plan to purchase units based on the positive evaluation results. 

Based on data acquired from AFRL's developmental test and evaluation efforts and from other competing systems, the REF determined that QuietPro is an effective and promising technology solution. Testing included blast overpressure protection, noise reduction in a high-noise environment, and auditory direction perception accuracy, with future tests planned for the Marine Corps program. The test activity also leveraged AFRL facilities that serve as the national standard for measuring the speech intelligibility of communications systems. All QuietPro test results are positive, and the equipment is ready for large-quantity production. 

QuietPro developer and manufacturer Nacre AS (Trondheim, Norway) produced several versions of the device to address military, aviation, and industrial customer applications. The system comes with earplugs, a noise attenuation mechanism with adjustable volume settings that can easily be attached to a soldier's vest, and connection cords that can interface with most military radios. The earplug is equipped with a miniaturized computer chip that isolates and eliminates the damaging elements of noise, reducing the risk of acoustic trauma. The plug also has a sensitive inner microphone that records the user's voice and transmits it via radio or wired systems, significantly improving field communications.