Hello! We are a group of Biomedical Engineering students at Tufts University who are working together to design a solution to improve the auditory experience of wearing a face mask.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has introduced the use of face masks in many facets of everyday life to prevent the spread of the virus. Currently, at Tufts University and many other schools across the world, all classes are taught in indoor settings where both the teachers and the students wear masks. This dynamic can make it challenging for students to hear the teacher during class (and vice versa), as masks lower the decibel level of the speaker’s voice and prevent certain facial cues and lip-reading. The classroom is not the only setting where face masks have introduced a challenge in communication, but it is the inspiration for our project. We hope to create a product that can improve communication during the pandemic not only in the classroom, but anywhere face masks are worn.

Therefore, our problem statement is: “A way to improve the audio clarity of a speaker wearing a face mask in a conversation with a listener that allows for enhanced communication between all parties.”