Alphabet's Next Moonshot Project May Give You Enhanced Hearing

Alphabet's "moonshot factory" X is working on a new project codenamed "Wolverine," according to a new leak, and it may involve a wearable that facilitates super-hearing capabilities. The project is described as top-secret at this time and named after the popular superhero character Wolverine. The codename Wolverine wearable project reportedly picked up steam back in 2018, resulting in multiple prototypes.

The details come from four people who previously worked on the project, according to Business Insider, which first reported the leak. Serious work on the project allegedly began within X lab in 2018, and though it is still in its early stages, Wolverine has drawn in industry experts, the sources claim.

Multiple prototypes have reportedly been created under the project, the report states, but they were excessively large due to the inclusion of many microphones. Part of the effort, the sources reveal, is implementing this microphone array while shrinking the wearable's overall size.

One of the key features behind Wolverine is speech segregation, which would enable the user to focus on and enhance speech coming from a particular person in a room where multiple conversations are happening. However, the sources indicate that Wolverine may one day be more than just a speech isolation tool — and, perhaps, it may one day become a full Alphabet company.

As with any project, Wolverine may end up changing substantially in time — or may eventually be abandoned as a fun concept. In the same way, Wolverine may end up launching as a consumer product under the wider augmented reality market, paving the way for enhanced hearing capabilities.