PARAT - Personal Active Radio/Audio Terminal - is developed by SINTEF Telecom and Informatics and NACRE AS. The technology is commercialized by NACRE under the brands QuietPro and QP100ex. It is a combined hearing protector and wireless communication transceiver. The first version is made for military use, and is currently under trial in the Norwegian and Swedish Defence.

Noise is recognized as a major problem for achieving satisfactory working conditions in a large number of civilian and military working environments. In addition to causing hearing damage, noise is a safety problem due to impaired communications abilities, tiredness, discomfort, and reduced alertness.

PARAT is a solution to this problem, being a lightweight, intelligent hearing protector with wireless communication. Since the noise attenuation is automatically adapted to the noise condition, PARAT simultaneously protects the hearing and provides optimum communication abilities in different noise environments encountered during the working period. It is intended for continuous use, and there is no need for removing it during the day.

PARAT analyses the sound input and automatically adjusts the noise attenuation and the communication signal levels. Active noise control is utilized to obtain excellent noise attenuation at low frequencies. The ear plug may be used as a hands-free terminal to other communication systems (intercom system, DECT hand terminal, GSM telephone, military radio unit, etc). The technology is protected by several patents.

There are numerous other application areas for PARAT, e.g.

• offshore
• police
• fire brigades
• transportation
• health care
• accessories for mobile communication
• entertainment.

Contact at SINTEF:

Odd K Østern Pettersen, phone: +47 92062610, e-mail: Beskyttet adresse