The Audita III has been launched, complete with Auracast. The portable sound system designed for classrooms was showcased to the world in a special livestream event on Tuesday, November 18.
Created by Simeon Canada, the system comprises a lightweight transmitter, a pendant microphone that the teacher can wear around the neck, and two microphones that can be passed around the classroom to allow students to participate in discussions. These have been designed to be small enough to easily fit into the hands of younger students.
The livestream was given by Simeon Canada’s president, Jason Rude, and broadcast live on YouTube.
“It is a completely massive step forward in hearing accessibility,” he said, highlighting the Audita III’s many features.
He started off with a short overview of Auracast’s development, highlighting the partnership work Simeon Canada has carried out with ReSound over the past eight months of testing the Audita III’s assistive listening functionality: they have been “super helpful”, he said.
The work of Starkey and Oticon in launching their own Auracast-enabled hearing aids was also praised, and he hinted that Signia and Widex would launch models next year. Only Phonak is holding off.
He added: “This is a super exciting time for us in the hearing accessibility world. We will look back five years from now and recognise this as the point in time that it all changed.”
Of Auracast, Jason said: “I’ve gotta tell you, it sounds amazing … it sounds incredible. It has the higher frequencies, which are important for speech intelligibility.”
The Audita III is portable, and this is something that Jason said is well-liked among the educational community: “Teachers love it because they take it to the library, to the lunchroom, to the music room, the art studio, they can take it outside, to the gym, or to recess.”
As well as having a carry handle, it can be mounted on a tripod, and it has a range of 60m (200ft). If someone leaves the transmission zone and then returns to it within five minutes, the device should automatically reconnect, as with other Auracast devices.
It can be plugged directly into computers and whiteboards, and the teacher’s voice can be set to be heard over multimedia. The external audio volume would be automatically lowered to ensure this clarity.
The buttons on the microphones and the base unit also make it clear when they are on, or on mute: they are very bright so people can see at a glance and avoid any awkward moments if it has been left on and they visit another setting, such as a staff room, where the conversations would be inappropriate in the room intended for amplification.
And the three-microphone system is something else that teachers appreciate, not least as they come paired and ready to use.
Jason said: “Teachers love it because they know it’s on. They have an easier time commanding the class. Pass-around microphones are critical for a truly accessible classroom.
“There is very little burden on the teacher to have to manage it for a student who needs the support. A younger student in kindergarten, grade one, grade two, grade three, grade four – they’re able to connect on their own.”
And if phones are banned in the classroom, pupils can connect via their phone’s Auracast assistant and then put their phones in a basket on the teacher’s desk. They don’t need to keep their phone as the Auracast systems allow for the hearing aid microphones to share ambient noise at the same time as Auracasting the transmitter’s sound directly into the hearing aid, headphones or earbuds.
The system is “an affordable way for providing a fully inclusive classroom”.
The Audita III is also suitable for different settings. Jason gave an example of older people living in a care home.
“Think of how versatile how it will be in a retirement setting – (the Audita III can be used in the) dining room announcements in the morning, then up to second floor lounge for a book club, then back downstairs for a bingo game or seniors’ yoga … It can be taken anywhere, and you still have Auracast,” Jason said.
He also said it would work for smaller venues such as places of worship: “(It can be used by) medium-sized congregation settings that are usually left behind for amplification. This is exactly what can cover those spaces.”
The Audita III also works on a new frequency, switching from UHF 514-544 MHz to 1.9 GHz, this was the DECT spectrum which is now being opened up due to recent updates to the airwaves. This should ensure that like its predecessor, it offers interference-free listening for the user.
Jason said: “You want a system where all aspects of the technology are going to age really, really well. This is operating on DECT frequencies and has Auracast – this means this is really geared for the future.”
For more details, log on to: https://simeoncanada.com/simeon-audita-iii/
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