Created by academics working alongside the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, the “Mic Array” uses sound separation technology to pick out individual voices and minimise others.

Dr Banu Gunel, inventor of the system and a visiting research fellow at Surrey’s Centre for Communications Systems Research, said: “The biggest problem for hard-of-hearing people is hearing more than one sound or voice at the same time.

“Our technology uses noise separation software to allow people to focus on one voice and effectively turn off background noise.”

A prototype of the system was tested by 40 RNID volunteers who compared the intelligibility of a standard omni-directional microphone with the new Mic Array.

Tom Fiddian, senior designer at RNID, explained that the results were overwhelmingly positive.

He said: “Even with the background noise as the sound source, we found that the Mic Array is four times better than a normal microphone and just as good as if there was no background noise at all.”

The new technology is especially beneficial for people with wide hearing loss who usually struggle to follow conversations in noisy environments.

Martyn Buxton-Hoare, University of Surrey Assistant Director for Technology Transfer, said: “This technology will be particularly useful in very noisy places, such as restaurants, or at home or work when groups of people are talking at the same time.”

The University of Surrey and RNID are working together to find a manufacturer to bring the technology to market.

Heading: Smartphones help Surrey team break final frontier

SPACE experts from the University of Surrey have enlisted mobile phone technology to create a lightweight satellite that will be launched into orbit in 2012.

Researchers from Surrey Space Centre (SSC) and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd  developed STRaND-1 during the last academic year to demonstrate how off-the-shelf components can be crafted into a viable satellite.

SSC’s Dr Chris Bridges, STRaND-1 lead researcher, explained that smartphone components such as sensors, video cameras, GPS systems and Wi-Fi radios, are just as advances as those found on existing satellite systems but at a fraction of the size, weight and cost.

He said: “Because many smartphones also run on free operating systems that lend themselves to online software developers, the creators of applications for smartphones could feasibly develop apps for satellites.

“If a smartphone can be proven to work in space, it opens up lots of new technologies to a multitude of people and companies who usually can’t afford it. It’s a real game-changer for the industry.”

Heading: Healthy relationship

SURREY academics have linked up with Government experts to help tackle global animal and public health issues.

Under the innovative partnership, experts from the University’s Microbial Sciences Department are working with scientists from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Research collaborations between the two groups are focusing on crucial areas including Salmonella, Tuberculosis, human gastroenteritis viruses, E.coli and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in food-producing animals.

Professor Martin Woodward, Head of Bacteriology and chair of the VLA Training and Postgraduate Education Committee, said: “The coming together of the VLA with the University of Surrey is without doubt a major step forward for both institutions.

“Bringing together the highly-specialist skills and knowledge bases of these two powerhouses is generating a great deal of potential advances which are now being realised.

“Within a very short time, a plethora of new opportunities have arisen already ranging from inventive EPSRC projects, new ideas in post genomics and systems biology through to PhD programmes, new undergraduate courses and new approaches to training.

“In these challenging financial times, close working relations will not only strengthen both institutions but also provide long-term resilience in our respective fields for the benefit of UK plc.”

The memorandum of understanding between Surrey and the VLA is the latest in a string of collaborations between the organisations over the past year.

Other projects include joint activities in veterinary research and education, including the launch of an undergraduate programme in Veterinary Biosciences, the appointment of Professor Roberto La Rigione into a joint academic post and the award of a Visiting Professorship to Professor Woodward.

Dr Lisa Roberts, Head of the Microbial Sciences Division at the University of Surrey, said: “I am delighted with the deepening relationship between the University and VLA, particularly in bringing together our complementary research expertise to answer important research questions.”

Heading: Games software gets Hollywood animated

A COMPUTER firm launched from the University of Surrey has received major backing from an industry giant for its animation software.

IKinema’s self-titled programme, which was initially developed at Surrey Space Centre to help control spacecraft systems, has provided a new method of providing life-like animations to bodies in video games.

And the system, which takes gravity and balance into account to provide realistic movement to on-screen characters, proved so popular that media group 20th Century Fox has given IKinema its backing.

Martyn Buxton-Hoare, director of IKinema, explained: “By using IKinema, games developers can provide realistic, life-like, fluid movements in games with minimal effort. IKinema can be plugged seamlessly into the animation pipeline to greatly increase the believability of characters and make them fully interactive with the scene.”

Since its launch, IKinema – which won creator Dr Alexandre Pechev the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Entrepreneur Award – has taken up a place with TIGA, the trade association representing the UK gaming industry.

The association helped IKinema to secure funding to attend a trade exhibition in San Francisco and hosted networking sessions to allow the company to raise its profile in the industry.

John Griffith, 20th Century Fox’s cinematic development director, said he was “beyond excited” to integrate IKinema into his work.

He explained:2 “IKinema is unmatched in its ability to duplicate human behaviour. It allows me to quickly adjust performance capture on the fly with just a few controls.

“IKinema is now an essential part of my process now and in the future.”

Heading: Surrey provides a boost to Britain’s space race

A new centre that will radically boost the UK’s space industry has opened at the University of Surrey’s Research Park.

The International Space Innovation Centre – Surrey (ISIC-Surrey) has been established to attract £25 million worth of investment to the industry by providing business, technical and facilities support in an entrepreneurial environment.

Keith Robson, Director of Research and Enterprise Support at the University of Surrey, said that by 2014 the new venture aims to support 75 start-ups, engage 100 businesses in knowledge-based collaborations and support the skills development of 500 people.

He added: “The University has a world-class reputation for its research, knowledge transfer and skills development in the space industry.

“ISIC-Surrey is in an ideal position to support regional businesses and to help nurture further innovation and growth.”

The International Space Innovation Centre is the first centre of its kind in Europe.

Heading: Anti-HIV drug trial hosted by Surrey

A drug developed from genetically-modified (GM) tobacco plants which could prevent HIV infection was trailed by researchers at the University of Surrey.

The first human trial of its kind was carried out at Surrey’s Clinical Research Centre, where scientists examined the safety of the monoclonal antibody on 11 female participants.

The development is part of the Pharma-Planta project, which aims to use GM plants to make drugs cheaper to produce.

Speaking after the announcement that the trial had been approved by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Clinical Research Centre director Dr Julia Boyle said: “Clearly this is an exciting development which should hopefully pave the way for future trials of this nature.”

P2G12, the antibody cultivated from the plant, could be used in combination with other HIV-neutralising antibodies to create a topically-applied protective product for women.

Pharma-Planta was created by a consortium of 30 academic and industrial partners using €12 million of European Union funding.

Heading: Surrey technologists team up with BBC

Future developments in audio and visual technology could be inspired by Surrey after the University formed a new link with the BBC.

Under the Audio Research Partnership, experts from both organisations will develop new skills and share research findings with industry to enable new products such as HD audio.

Professor Adrian Hilton, head of Surrey’s Visual Media Research Group, said: “We hope that our collaboration will continue to flourish and provide significant benefits to those who use, watch and listen to broadcasts across a wide spectrum of programmes.”

BBC Research and Development is using the initiative to work more closely with the Higher Education sector in the field of audio-visual research and innovation.

Technical areas of focus include audio semantics, 3D audio-visual production and room acoustics, with research planned into areas such as speech recognition and audio coding.

Heading: Smart materials boost research into new drugs

Surrey scientists have overcome a major barrier to research into new medicines.

Drugs are normally developed when experts identify proteins involved in a disease before designing a molecule that stimulates or blocks the protein’s function.

Scientists need to know the protein’s structure before doing this, but getting it to come out of solution and form a crystal is a major obstacle.

Working with colleagues from Imperial College, Surrey researchers developed Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) which remember the shape of target molecules and act as nucleants – substances that bind protein molecules – for targeting a specific protein.

Dr Subrayal M Reddy, Senior Lecturer in Applied Analytical Chemistry, said: “To date surfaces used for protein crystallization have been random at best with no rational design. For the first time, we have introduced specific protein architecture in the form of our smart materials – MIPs.

"This is an enabling technology which will facilitate genomic and proteomic research and the discovery of new drugs."

Heading: Materials research to advance technology

A new project to pioneer the next generation of materials for computing and communications technologies was launched in 2011.

Researchers at the University of Surrey aimed to develop substances that allow faster data movement and processing using a novel family of glass materials recognised as being the optical equivalent of silicon.

The project hopes to deliver a hybrid ‘optoelectronic’ technology without the current limitations presented by optical and electronic systems working independently.

Dr Richard Curry, of the Department of Electronic Engineering, said: “This programme will establish the UK as leaders in this field and therefore directly contribute to the continuing growth of the knowledge economy.

“As a result of this work, we will develop for the first time an understanding of how these unique materials can be modified in a controlled way.”

The work is being conducted by Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute in collaboration with the Universities of Cambridge and Southampton.