Latest news with #AdvancedFunctionalMaterials
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
IIT Guwahati Researchers develop contactless voice recognition sensor for individuals with voice disabilities
Guwahati: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, in collaboration with Ohio State University, USA, have developed an underwater vibration sensor that enables automated and contactless voice recognition. It is indicated that this technology could offer an alternative communication method for individuals with voice disabilities who are unable to use conventional voice-based systems. The research findings have been published in Advanced Functional Materials, co-authored by Prof. Uttam Manna (Department of Chemistry), research scholars Debasmita Sarkar, Rajan Singh, Anirban Phukan, Priyam Mondal, and Prof. Roy P. Paily (Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering) at IIT Guwahati, along with Prof. Xiaoguang Wang and Ufuoma I. Kara from The Ohio State University. According to the team, voice recognition technologies are widely used in smart devices today, yet they remain inaccessible to people with voice disorders. Recent studies suggest a considerable percentage of children and young adults between the ages of 3 and 21 experience some form of voice disability, highlighting the need for more inclusive communication tools . To address this gap, the researchers focused on the air expelled through the mouth during attempted speech. It is stated that even when sound is not produced, this exhaled air can disturb a water surface, creating subtle waves. The team's sensor, positioned just below the air-water interface, detects these minute vibrations and translates them into electrical signals. The sensor is made from a conductive, chemically reactive porous sponge and uses Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to interpret the signal patterns. This AI-powered system allows for the recognition of attempted speech without sound, enabling hands-free communication with devices. It is noted that the prototype developed in the lab costs approximately ₹3,000, with ongoing research aimed at reducing costs through potential industry collaboration. According to the researchers, the device has shown durability in extended underwater use and could have broader applications, including in exercise tracking, movement detection, and underwater sensing. As a next step, the team intends to pursue clinical validation and expand their dataset by collecting samples from individuals with voice disabilities. This is expected to help refine the model to recognise specific words or phrases necessary for operating smart devices. Speaking about the developed sensor, Prof. Uttam Manna, Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati, said, 'It is one of the rare designs of material allowing to recognize voice based on monitoring the water wave formed at air/water interface because of exhaling air from mouth. This approach is likely to provide a viable solution for communication with those individuals with partially or entirely damaged vocal cords.'
India Today
3 days ago
- Health
- India Today
Difficulty speaking? IIT Guwahati's sensor turns your breath into voice commands
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, in collaboration with The Ohio State University, may have found a way to turn the breath int voice with its new communication device. The team developed a low-cost underwater vibration sensor that can interpret a person's breath as speech input, even when no sound is research, published in Advanced Functional Materials, is being hailed as a possible breakthrough in contactless of using spoken words, the new sensor picks up the subtle air flow from the mouth as a person attempts to speak. When this air moves across a water surface, it creates small vibrations, enough for the sensor to from a chemically reactive porous sponge, the device converts the vibrations into electrical signals are then interpreted using a deep learning system called a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), which matches them with pre-learned speech Uttam Manna, who led the project from the Department of Chemistry at IIT Guwahati, said the sensor could help users control devices from a distance, hands-free and innovation is particularly geared towards people who have lost their ability to speak but can still form mouth movements and exhale prototype, which costs around Rs 3,000 in lab conditions, is now being prepped for clinical team is gathering speechless airflow patterns from users to fine-tune its ability to recognise common commands used in operating home appliances or digital research goes beyond accessibility. According to the team, the sensor has potential applications in motion detection, underwater communication, and even health of people with damaged vocal cords or speech disabilities often find themselves excluded from today's voice-controlled smart assistants and devices have made daily life easier for many, those who cannot speak remain unable to access these using something as basic as breath over water, this project has taken a small but significant step toward making the digital world more inclusive, and more human.- Ends
Hans India
3 days ago
- Science
- Hans India
IIT-Guwahati researchers develop sensor that can help people with voice disabilities communicate
Researchers at IIT-Guwahati have developed an underwater vibration sensor that enables automated and contactless voice recognition. Developed in collaboration with researchers from Ohio State University in the US, the sensor offers a promising alternative communication method for individuals with voice disabilities who are unable to use conventional voice-based systems, the IIT-Guwahati said in a statement on Monday. Voice recognition has become an integral part of modern life as it helps users in operating smart devices, including mobile phones and home appliances, through voice commands, it said. However, for the people with voice disorders, this technological development remains inaccessible, it said. To address this limitation, the research team has found a solution by focusing on the exhale air through the mouth while speaking, a basic physiological function, it added. "In cases where individuals cannot produce sound, attempting to speak generates airflow from their lungs. When this air flows over a water surface, it produces subtle waves. The research team has developed an underwater vibration sensor which can detect these water waves and interpret speech signals without depending on audible voice, thus creating a new pathway for voice recognition," the statement said. The developed sensor is made from a conductive, chemically reactive porous sponge, it said. When placed just below the air-water interface, it captures the tiny disturbances created by exhaled air and converts them into measurable electrical signals. The research team used Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), a type of deep learning model, to accurately recognise these subtle signal patterns. This setup allows users to communicate with devices from a distance, without the need to generate sound. The findings of the research have been published in the journal, Advanced Functional Materials. Professor Uttam Manna, who was a part of the research team, said, "It is one of the rare designs of material allowing to recognise voice based on monitoring the water wave formed at the air/water interface because of exhaling air from the mouth. This approach is likely to provide a viable solution for communication with those individuals with partially or entirely damaged vocal cords." On a lab scale, the working prototype costs Rs 3,000, the statement said. With research exploring potential industry collaboration for bringing the technology from the lab to real-world use, the cost of the final product is expected to be reduced, it said. Some of the key features of the developed sensors include AI-powered interpretation using CNNs and hands-free control of smart devices, it said. As the next step, the research team is planning to get clinical validation for the developed device.
India Today
20-06-2025
- Science
- India Today
Indian researchers develop new way to enhance lithium-ion battery safety
In a major leap toward enhancing lithium-ion battery safety, researchers at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence have unveiled a groundbreaking thermoresponsive electrolyte that actively prevents catastrophic battery innovation, recently published in the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials, promises to transform the safety landscape for devices powered by lithium-ion batteries, including smartphones, laptops, and electric lithium-ion batteries rely on polymer separators for safety, which are designed to melt or shrink at around 160C to halt battery However, these separators often fail under real-world conditions, as internal battery temperatures can easily surpass this threshold, leading to dangerous thermal runaway—a phenomenon that can cause fires or Shiv Nadar team's new approach leverages chemistry, not just materials engineering. Their electrolyte is engineered using Diels – Alder click chemistry, combining vinylene carbonate and 2,5-dimethylfuran. Under normal conditions, it functions just like commercial electrolytes. (Photo: Shiv Nadar) Under normal conditions, it functions just like commercial electrolytes. But when the battery's temperature rises above 100C — a critical warning sign — the Diels – Alder reaction is reaction produces polymeric materials that simultaneously block lithium-ion movement and clog the separator's micropores, effectively shutting down the battery's operation before it can reach hazardous two-stage protection mechanism provides a built-in safety buffer, giving users critical time before any catastrophic failure occurs,' explained lead researcher Professor Arnab Ghosh.'Unlike conventional polymer separators, which often fail above 160C due to thermal shrinkage, our thermoresponsive electrolyte ceases lithium-ion transport as soon as the temperature exceeds 100–120C. This limits further internal temperature rise and significantly reduces the risk of fire or explosion,' he shift from passive to active safety mechanisms could revolutionise battery safety standards across halting battery operation at lower, safer temperatures, this technology offers enhanced protection for a wide range of applications— from consumer electronics to electric vehicles — potentially saving lives and breakthrough shows India's growing leadership in battery research, positioning Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence at the forefront of global efforts to make energy storage safer and more reliable.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Researchers develop new metal-free organic catalyst which can produce hydrogen fuel by harvesting mechanical energy
In an interdisciplinary study, researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), along with other institutions, have developed a novel, cost-effective, metal-free porous organic catalyst for efficient Hydrogen fuel production by harvesting mechanical energy. According to the Department of Science and Technology, in order to reduce global warming and the related impact of fossil fuels, transition towards sustainable alternatives based on renewable energy becomes increasingly critical. Game-changing source 'Green hydrogen (H₂) fuel has emerged as a game-changing renewable and clean-burning energy source, which generates no direct carbon emissions and only water as a by-product when used in fuel cells,' it said. Professor Tapas K. Maji from the Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit at JNCASR and his research team have developed a metal-free donor-acceptor based covalent-organic framework (COF) for piezocatalytic water splitting. This study published in Advanced Functional Materials demonstrates a Covalent organic framework (COF) built from imide linkages between organic donor molecule tris(4-aminophenyl)amine (TAPA) and acceptor molecule pyromellitic dianhydride (PDA) acceptor exhibiting unique ferrielectric (FiE) ordering, which showed efficient piezocatalytic activity for water splitting to produce H2. 'This discovery breaks the traditional notion of solely employing heavy or transition metal-based ferroelectric (FE) materials as piezocatalysts for catalyzing water splitting reaction,' the department stated. Using a simple donor molecule like TAPA and an acceptor molecule like PDA, Prof. Maji and his research team have built a COF system that has strong charge transfer properties, which creates dipoles (separation between positive and negative charges). Instability in structure This causes instability in the lattice structure, leading to FiE ordering. These FiE dipoles interact with flexible twisting molecular motion in the material, making them responsive to mechanical pressure. As a result, the material can generate electron-hole pairs when mechanically stimulated, making it a highly efficient piezocatalyst for water splitting for H2 production. The team comprises four other researchers from JNCASR: Adrija Ghosh, Surabhi Menon, Dr. Sandip Biswas and Dr. Anupam Dey. Apart from JNCASR, Dr. Supriya Sahoo and Prof. Ramamoorthy Boomishankar from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune and Prof. Jan K. Zaręba from Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland made important contributions to the present interdisciplinary study.
