# Artificial Hearing: From Ear Drums to Tuning Forks

- Show: [EE Times Current](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current)
- Published: 2025-11-07
- Length: 51m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks
- Listen: https://podcast.show/aspencore/episode/149727223/

## Summary

Dr. Claudia Lenk of the University of Bamberg explains her group's development of a silicon cochlea using micromechanical cantilever beams that act as artificial hair cells, offering frequency-selective sensing and adaptive feedback to improve speech recognition in noisy environments. The team is integrating these sensors with memristor-based reservoir computing for low-power hearing aid applications, a project funded by the Caritase Foundation under the name Noirosensia. The discussion also features Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University, who debates the definition of neuromorphic engineering and compares Lenk's active sensing approach to other low-power AI hardware like Chi-Chi Liu's recent work.

## Chapters

- [0:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=3) Introduction: Dr. Claudia Lenk and the Silicon Cochlea
- [1:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=110) Biological Inspiration: Nanofabrication and Nonlinear Dynamics
- [4:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=286) Micromechanical Sensors: Cantilevers, Gaps, and Tuning
- [9:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=591) Adaptive Feedback and Nonlinear Amplification
- [13:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=811) Reservoir Computing and Speech Recognition in Noise
- [19:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=1178) Active Sensing and Efference Copy Challenges
- [23:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=1427) Noirosensia Project: Hearing Aids and Lifelong Learning
- [26:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=1592) Debate: Is Neuromorphic Dead? with Prof. Ralph Etienne-Cummings
- [33:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-11-07-artificial-hearing-from-ear-drums-to-tuning-forks#t=2004) Comparison with Chi-Chi Liu's Ultra-Low Power AI Hardware

## Topics

- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Medical & health devices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/medical-devices)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- University of Bamberg (company)
- University College London (company)
- Czech Technical University in Prague (company)
- Johns Hopkins University (company)
- Fraunhofer Institute (company)
- IMMS (company)
- Caritase Foundation (other)
- Noirosensia (product)
- memristor (chip)
- reservoir computing (other)
- MFCC (other)
- Giacomo Indiveri (other)
- Brad Imsay (other)
- Chi-Chi Liu (other)
- Shichi (other)
- Andre Van Shaik (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [50. Additive Manufacturing for Eardrums and Nano-Objects](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-12-28-50-additive-manufacturing-for-eardrums-and-nano-objects) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [Episode 139: Advanced robot hearing - Christine Evers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-01-09-episode-139-advanced-robot-hearing-christine-evers) (Robot Talk)
- [75. Size Matters: Tiny Biomimicry Leads to Big Breakthroughs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-06-21-75-size-matters-tiny-biomimicry-leads-to-big-breakthroughs) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [62. AI Powered Devices For Saving Lives & Studying Oceans](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-03-22-62-ai-powered-devices-for-saving-lives-studying-oceans) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [When your headphones listen to you with Ramses Alcaide of Neurable](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-08-31-when-your-headphones-listen-to-you-with-ramses-alcaide-of-neurable) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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