Trying to pick out a voice from a crowd, especially a noisy crowd, can be difficult. However, a report from Business Insider has revealed that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, could actually be developing a wearable codenamed Wolverine that would have the ability to pick up specific voices in a crowd.
The report goes on to claim that initial prototypes of the device involved an array of microphones that covered the wearer’s entire ear, but the more recent prototypes are said to be much smaller. It is unclear what purpose such a device would serve, but perhaps it could be used for more sophisticated hearing aids, or hi-tech earphones or headphones.
However, according to Business Insider’s source, they told them that Alphabet was rather adamant that this project had to encompass more than one device and had to be more than just a single-use case before the company commits to commercializing, which suggests that Alphabet might be thinking long-term.
That being said, Alphabet wouldn’t be the first in creating such a device. Facebook’s Oculus is actually working on something similar with AI-enhanced hearing aids. You can check out the video above to get an idea of what it could look like and maybe what kind of device Alphabet is also aiming to create.