Assistive Intelligence Laboratory
Research, prototype, and validate intelligent wearable technologies that restore, augment, or enhance human communication, perception, and physical interaction through AI, embedded systems, and human-centered engineering.
Early-Stage Research
The Assistive Intelligence Laboratory conducts early-stage, exploratory research. None of our work is clinically validated, FDA-approved, or intended as medical treatment, diagnosis, or therapy. We make no claims about therapeutic effectiveness, medical outcomes, or clinical applications. All initiatives are research programs, not products or services.
Why This Laboratory Exists
Millions of people experience challenges in communication, perception, and physical interaction due to injury, illness, age, or neurological conditions. Existing assistive technologies often require significant manual control, limit naturalness, or don't adapt to individual needs.
The Assistive Intelligence Laboratory investigates how intelligent wearable systems—combining sensors, embedded AI, signal processing, and human-centered design—can:
- RestoreCapabilities that have been lost or diminished
- AugmentExisting abilities with AI assistance and feedback
- EnhanceExperience and effectiveness with personalization and adaptation
We center our research on human need, user experience, and responsible engineering—not hype or unproven claims.
Human-Centered Engineering Principles
Start with the Human Problem
We listen to people with lived experience before designing solutions. Technology follows from understanding, not the reverse.
Reduce Effort, Not Just Capability
Assistive systems should reduce cognitive and physical burden. A tool that requires constant manual control or conscious attention is not truly assistive.
Preserve Autonomy
Automation should enhance choice, not remove it. Users must understand what the system is doing and why.
Design for Naturalness
Assistive technologies should feel like extensions of the body and mind, not foreign devices. Latency, feedback, and interaction must feel natural.
Be Transparent About Limitations
We are clear about what we know, what we don't, what is validated, and what is still experimental. No hype.
Current Research Initiatives
Voice Restoration Initiative
Research into AI-assisted wearable systems that may improve the experience of people using electrolarynx and other voice-restoration technologies.
Research Questions
- →How can wearable sensors improve speech clarity and naturalness for electrolarynx users?
- →What sensor modalities are most effective for detecting speech onset and intent?
- →How can embedded AI provide real-time pitch and prosody assistance without cognitive burden?
- +2 more questions
Technology Areas
⚠ Early-stage research and exploration • Not clinically validated • No medical claims or effectiveness guarantees
Adaptive Tinnitus Support
Early research into personalized, adaptive systems for tinnitus support.
Research Questions
- →How do personalized sound environments affect tinnitus perception across different presentations?
- →What is the relationship between hearing profile, environmental factors, and tinnitus perception?
- →Can stress, sleep quality, and postural factors be correlated with tinnitus variation?
- +2 more questions
Technology Areas
⚠ Very early-stage research hypothesis • Not clinically validated • Requires clinical and regulatory partnership • No treatment claims
Shared Technical Foundation
All initiatives leverage a shared platform of capabilities:
- →Wearable embedded systems
- →Sensor fusion and DSP
- →Embedded AI and TinyML
- →Real-time signal processing
- →Human-centered engineering
How to Collaborate
This research requires diverse expertise and perspectives. We seek:
Clinical and research partnerships
Speech-language pathologists
Audiologists
Biomedical engineers
Wearable systems experts
User research and human factors specialists
Research Journal Entries
We publish our research thinking in the Open Research Journal. These entries document our current investigations, findings, and questions.
Voice Restoration Research Notebook
Jul 25, 2026Initial research exploration into sensor modalities and signal processing approaches for AI-assisted voice restoration in electrolarynx systems.
Wearable AI Module Research Log
Jul 20, 2026Concept exploration for a modular wearable AI system architecture that reduces cognitive and physical effort for assistive applications.
Adaptive Tinnitus Support — Initial Research Questions
Jul 15, 2026Initial research hypothesis and fundamental questions for a personalized, adaptive system to support individuals with tinnitus.
Questions or Feedback?
We welcome questions, research partnerships, user insights, and feedback from clinicians, researchers, engineers, and people with lived experience of the challenges we investigate.
Get in Touch