Real-Time Adaptive Transparency Framework with low-complexity for Hearables via Spectral Analysis and Loudness Optimization

Real-Time Adaptive Transparency Framework with low-complexity for Hearables via Spectral Analysis and Loudness Optimization | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Real-Time Adaptive Transparency Framework with low-complexity for Hearables via Spectral Analysis and Loudness Optimization ADITYA MENON, KALAIVANI SHANMUGAM This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9159010/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Transparency mode is an important feature of modern hearable devices. It lets you hear environmental sounds in real time while keeping you comfortable and aware of what's going on around you. Conventional transparency pipelines usually use static filtering and fixed loudness control systems, which don't work well in very non-stationary acoustic environments and often cause perceptual harshness, clipping, and loudness behaviour that isn't stable. This paper proposes a low-complexity hybrid adaptive transparency mode architecture that combines statistically driven loudness control, content-aware filtering, and lightweight acoustic feature analysis. Short-time energy and spectral centroid are used together to detect perceptually harsh high-frequency events and classify incoming acoustic frames. According to this classification, harsh events are selectively attenuated through targeted band-stop filtering, while benign ambient sounds are preserved through gentle low-pass filtering. An adaptive RMS-based limiter that uses a combination of exponential moving average and percentile-based ambient estimators to dynamically update its threshold is used to achieve loudness stability. A real-time MATLAB framework that reflects the constraints of hearable-class digital signal processing is used to implement the suggested system. In comparison to traditional static transparency pipelines, experimental evaluation on real-world environmental recordings shows a lower peak-to-average ratio, better transient handling, quicker recovery, and smoother loudness trajectories while maintaining low latency and computational viability appropriate for embedded hearable devices. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing Physical sciences/Physics Transparency mode hearable devices adaptive signal processing spectral centroid RMS limiter dynamic thresholding real-time audio DSP Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 14 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 02 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 30 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 30 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9159010","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":626366847,"identity":"3b8e2f9e-673c-408c-8078-912b68431692","order_by":0,"name":"ADITYA MENON","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Vellore Institute of Technology University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"ADITYA","middleName":"","lastName":"MENON","suffix":""},{"id":626366848,"identity":"2eaa6a72-8607-40c5-b181-55db92a4448e","order_by":1,"name":"KALAIVANI SHANMUGAM","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5UlEQVRIie3RPQrCMACG4a8E6hLsGinUK0QK4uRZErqL4iI4WCmkV+jmVZQMLgVXxcUuzgUXBwcj/m1RnBzyLgkhD0kI4HL9YQwkhTATH/AO4PfVpZ14L0I4OP+SPPIZnsfYauWreV2p/qCJxnFKhxcE+dLTQwsJqcyYVMnYB+3uqbkYKwV0YSERZMpESaQC9XfF7S1bQFMbCarsLMqZIY3j6Eban0hobsXERBuCLmpD+CfSKirVE5O1VITGrOYx7ZQytRK2SfTuzKdykedVLS5RFK21PtnIO3IfzOb3T7lcLpfrx673iEWsv2x4sAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Vellore Institute of Technology University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"KALAIVANI","middleName":"","lastName":"SHANMUGAM","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-18 11:53:51","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9159010/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9159010/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107408710,"identity":"8dbd7673-f5d6-4f67-b20d-3629b6dc0e3b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-21 08:43:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":485865,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DSPPaperSVrevised.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9159010/v1_covered_084d16e8-642e-43a8-b616-28058459feda.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Real-Time Adaptive Transparency Framework with low-complexity for Hearables via Spectral Analysis and Loudness Optimization","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Transparency mode, hearable devices, adaptive signal processing, spectral centroid, RMS limiter, dynamic thresholding, real-time audio DSP","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9159010/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9159010/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eTransparency mode is an important feature of modern hearable devices. 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