Innovative hearing protection technology provides exceptional situational awareness for greater tactical success
OTTO Engineering is collaborating with tactical operators in all branches of the military to design and manufacture a better type of hearing protection for today’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and federal agent. The goal is to enhance, rather than inhibit, combat performance. The result is OTTO’s NoizeBarrier® line of hearing protection. The NoizeBarrier® Micro electronic earplugs and the NoizeBarrier® TAC headset give today’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen the hearing protection they need with the advanced situational awareness and communications clarity required to prevail in combat. In addition, OTTO’s Multiport Hub PTT simplifies communications with advanced audio steering to minimize distractions when using multiple communications devices.
Proprietary NoizeBarrier® technology can enhance combat performance in three ways:
- Detect Threats with Greater Accuracy
Instead of dampening sounds completely and compromising the ability to hear what’s happening nearby, the NoizeBarrier® TAC headset and NoizeBarrier® Micro electronic earplugs feature proprietary technology that actually improves situational awareness. NoizeBarrier® technology enhances low frequency sounds, like nearby voices and movement, and minimizes distracting and damaging noises to enable soldiers to hear essential commands and approaching danger with greater clarity. With the NoizeBarrier® true 360-degree soundscape, soldiers can easily determine with near certainty the direction sounds are coming from and how far they are away from the current location.
The NoizeBarrier® Micro electronic earplugs take situational awareness to the next level with an enhanced mode that provides 5X amplification of soft sounds. With enhanced mode on, soldiers can hear clearer than ever, providing greater safety in the field. When quick reactions matter, verbal commands issued in barely detectible whispers and sounds as minimal as clothes brushing against skin can be clearly heard and quickly pinpointed. In combat, soldiers can identify potential threats and recognize friendly forces faster and with greater certainty.
- Improve Communications Clarity
With NoizeBarrier® hearing protection, soldiers do not have to rely on their ability to interpret hand motions or read lips to react quickly and follow orders. Proprietary situational awareness technology allows normal-level sounds to be easily heard, while suppressing loud noise and impulse blasts to internationally accepted safe levels. Verbal commands can be heard completely and clearly without distortion, clipping or cutting out.
The same holds true for incoming radio transmissions for soldiers using the NoizeBarrier® TAC headset. Some headsets indiscriminately distort and cut-out incoming transmissions when the noise in the surrounding environment is too loud. Essential transmissions can be fragmented or even lost, which clearly jeopardizes the safety of the mission. With the NoizeBarrier® TAC there is no clipping of transmitted commands or shut-down of situational awareness, allowing soldiers to remain focused, alert and primed for mission success.
- Simplify Control of Communications Devices
In today’s combat arena, soldiers are connected to multiple communication devices. Control of the devices can be distracting and compromise safety and combat performance if not managed well. The Multi-Port Hub PTT is designed to integrate seamlessly with the NoizeBarrier® TAC headset to centralize control of as many as three different communication devices. Incoming transmissions from different devices are sent to separate ears (audio steering) for clarity and safety in critical engagements. In short, the Hub simplifies communications and helps soldiers maintain situational awareness, location awareness (when used with an ATAK-type device), clarity and focus during critical operations.
