87224An IoT device to help the hospitality industry to recover inclusively and safely through innovative hearing wellness.ClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKThis project will develop, prototype and test a new Internet of Things (IoT) device to monitor data on sound performance in public spaces, powering a digital hearing wellness platform. This platform will help people to manage their own hearing health by making informed choices and means businesses can appeal to customers based on the sound performance that they curate. It will also help businesses to be more COVID-secure by enabling them to manage sound levels, which reduces the volume people need to speak at to be heard. How many times have you struggled to concentrate on your work because of background noise? And how many times have you left a loud restaurant with your ears ringing and your throat sore from shouting? More than half of us are surrounded by noise and sound that negatively affects our productivity, wellbeing and behaviour. And over 60% of the population are affected by some form of decreased sound tolerance. While the impacts of hearing loss may be more acute for some people than others, to the point of disability, it affects almost everyone at some point in their life. We know that it becomes more severe as we age, and noise can make some spaces unattractive or even intolerable to many. Mumbli is a digital platform for hearing wellness. It helps businesses and consumers to access, benefit from and contribute towards hearing wellness together. Mumbli's approach is to develop a holistic technology-based system that makes hearing wellness attractive for everyone, and to break through the stigma of it being restricted to a smaller audience of people with a disability. Following extensive background research, Mumbli has developed a unique approach to easily communicating information to users about sound in public spaces, based on data about sound in that location. This project will develop, prototype and real-world test an innovative new IoT-enabled device to actively record sound data in public spaces. The data it records then powers the insights that are offered to users of Mumbli's hearing wellness platform. Businesses that partner with Mumbli to use the device and the platform can actively choose to monitor and curate the 'sound personality' of their venue - such as a cafe, a bar or a shop. Their partnership with Mumbli gives them access to a 'Certified for Sound' certification. This certification enables users to rely on Mumbli's platform to find venues that match their own particular hearing wellness needs and preferences. For example, that might be a cafe where they know they can work quietly, or a restaurant they know they can hear their friend talk in or a bar that will reduce the risk of further hearing damage. The platform acts as a gateway to other devices and services that can help users to further manage their hearing wellness in the future. As the hospitality sector recovers from COVID-19's impacts, Mumbli's platform has potential global appeal and will help businesses to appeal inclusively to audiences who may have otherwise been deterred from going out.