OptoWavePro aims to develop a human prototype for an optical stimulator for optogenetic hearing restoration in individuals with profound hearing impairment. Leveraging optogenetics and biomedical engineering, we strive to restore near-natural hearing by precise optogenetic control of the auditory nerve for which we obtained preclinical proof. Our multidisciplinary team will design, fabricate, and validate the stimulator, emphasizing safety, efficacy, and regulatory compliance. Preclinical studies will validate efficacy, reliability, and biocompatibility, to prepare clinical trials. The OptoWavePro consortium will introduce a new paradigm of integrating arrays of laser diodes, micro-lenses and polymer-based waveguides on minimal space for the optical stimulator to meet the required form factor of the optical cochlear implant. We will facilitate the upscaling of optical stimulation channels by combining custom-designed and complementary elements with lateral channel pitches of only 100 micrometers throughout the optical pathway. Our biomedical engineering focusses on achieving efficacy and safety by housing all electronic components in a hermetically sealed titanium housing with optical feedthroughs and efficient and stable light in- and outcoupling of the waveguide array. The optical cochlear implant has the potential to revolutionize hearing restoration, merging scientific innovation with clinical impact, and transforming lives globally.

We put our lives increasingly in the hands of smart complex systems making decisions that directly affect our health and wellbeing. This is very evident in healthcare - where systems watch over your health - as well as in traffic - where autonomous driving solutions are gradually taking over control of the car. The accuracy and timeliness of the decisions depend on the systems’ ability to build a good understanding of both you and your environment, which relies on observations and the ability to reason on them. This project will bring perception sensing technologies like Radar, LiDAR and Time of Flight cameras to the next level, enhancing their features to allow for more accurate detection of human behaviour and physiological parameters. Besides more accurate automotive solutions ensuring driver vigilance and pedestrian and cyclist safety, this innovation will open up new opportunities in health and wellbeing to monitor elderly people at home or unobtrusively assess health state. To facilitate building the complex smart sensing systems envisioned and ensure their secure and reliable operation, the new Distributed Intelligence paradigm will be embraced, enhanced and supported by tools. It leverages the advantages of Edge and Cloud computing, building on the distributed computational resources increasingly available in sensors and edge components to distribute also the intelligence. The goal of this project is to develop next generation smart perception sensors and enhance the distributed intelligence paradigm to build versatile, secure, reliable, and proactive human monitoring solutions for the health, wellbeing, and automotive domains The project brings together major industrial players and research partners to address top challenges in health, wellbeing, and automotive domains through three use cases: integral vitality monitoring for elderly and exercise, driver monitoring, and providing safety and comfort for vulnerable road users at intersections.