New course introduces students to audio processing tech

Posted on July 09, 2025

From smart speakers and hearing aids to teleconferencing and 3D music, audio technology is essential in our daily lives. This spring, Assistant Professor Ryan M. Corey led a special-topics course to introduce students to audio processing technologies. The new course, ECE 491, Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing, covered fundamental topics including room acoustics, human hearing, and adaptive signal processing, and introduced students to cutting-edge audio applications for artificial intelligence, virtual reality, the internet of things, and wearable health technology.

Fifteen ECE undergraduate and graduate students completed hands-on coding assignments to implement popular audio effects like reverb and compression, measure the acoustics of their rooms, locate moving sound sources, remove noise and echoes from online calls, and create immersive 3D sound mixes. Some students also completed original research projects on hot topics like AI music generation, audio deepfakes, restoring damaged and degraded recordings, and protecting hearing for motorcycle riders.

In one lesson, the class discussed hearing assistive technologies for people with hearing loss. The students read personal stories to better understand the lived experience of people with hearing loss and their challenges. Then, they tested several wireless assistive listening devices, like the kind found in theaters and lecture halls, and discussed ways to improve them.

Corey’s research group, the Listening Technology Lab, is working to improve hearing assistive technologies and expand access for people with hearing loss. His team is applying cutting-edge techniques in signal processing and artificial intelligence to change how people experience the world through sound.

  1. Assistant Professor Ryan Corey with a telecoil induction loop, a wireless sound system that can be found in many public locations. They system sends a signal directly from a facility’s sound system to a user’s hearing aids.
    Jim Young
    Assistant Professor Ryan Corey with a telecoil induction loop, a wireless sound system that can be found in many public locations. They system sends a signal directly from a facility’s sound system to a user’s hearing aids.
  2. Wireless assistive listening systems allow people with hearing loss to detect sounds and understand speech and can be used with or without hearing aids. They include a base station with an antenna which is connected to a headset microphone. Students take turns listening to the receiver headsets.
    Jim Young
    Wireless assistive listening systems allow people with hearing loss to detect sounds and understand speech and can be used with or without hearing aids. They include a base station with an antenna which is connected to a headset microphone. Students take turns listening to the receiver headsets.
  3. Wireless assistive listening systems allow people with hearing loss to detect sounds and understand speech and can be used with or without hearing aids. They include a base station with an antenna which is connected to a headset microphone. Students take turns listening to the receiver headsets.
    Jim Young
    Wireless assistive listening systems allow people with hearing loss to detect sounds and understand speech and can be used with or without hearing aids. They include a base station with an antenna which is connected to a headset microphone. Students take turns listening to the receiver headsets.