CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –– Acentech Inc., a nationally recognized multi-disciplinary acoustics, audiovisual systems design, and vibration consulting firm, announced that it has been awarded the first part of a multi-year contract by the United States Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR), to develop underwater communications and hearing protection technologies. Acentech’s RH Lyon Division, one of the most experienced groups of product noise and product sound quality specialists in the United States, was awarded the pro ject through the Government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

The goals of this project are to improve communications between divers and the dive ship or barge, and to pro tect the hearing of military and commercial divers working in noisy environments, such as underwater salvage and hull cleaning. The primary products of the contract will be a communications earphone and a noise canceling headband device for SCUBA divers, as well as noise canceling technology to be incorporated into communica tions devices in dive helmets. The headband device will be an active cancellation system for reducing skull vibration, which is an important pathway to a diver’s eardrum for loud underwater sounds when a helmet is not in use (as in SCUBA).

Naval divers, especially those who work near large ships or on underwater construction or demoli tion projects, are often exposed to extremely loud sounds for prolonged periods of time, putting them at risk of long-term hearing loss.  The U.S. government spends $1.5 billion a year to take care of military personnel with hearing damage due to their military service. The U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Research has established a major program to address hearing loss, from finding ways of quieting the working environment to funding medical research to study how to restore the hearing of people who have gone deaf.

“This Naval Research project is unique in that it lies at the intersection of novel transducer exper tise and environmental noise and vibration, two specialties of our firm,” said Dr. Steven Africk, Principal Investigator at Acentech. “Acentech is proud to help the U.S. Navy create a device that will make the lives of naval divers better.”

In a similar project, Acentech recently delivered several prototype transducers to the U.S. Air Force for use in noise canceling earplugs intended for use on aircraft carrier flight decks, one of the world’s noisiest work places.