Deaf See Conversations via Subtitles

The general idea fairly obvious,   How well is important. 

AR Glasses Allow Deaf People to 'See' Conversations by Turning Audio into Subtitles

EuroNews, Aisling Ní Chúláin, July 29, 2022

U.K. startup XRAI Glass has unveiled new augmented reality (AR) glasses that can translate audio into subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing users. The XRAI Glasses, developed with Chinese AR glasses manufacturer Nreal, are connected to a mobile phone that manages processing and graphics generation. "What our software effectively does is it takes an audio feed from the microphone on these glasses [and] sends it down to the phone," said XRAI Glass' Dan Scarfe. "On the phone we are effectively turning that audio into closed captions and then, using that Nreal software, we can project those subtitles into the real world." ...

Technology for the Deaf

And how people integrate technology into accessibility.

Technology for the Deaf    By Keith Kirkpatrick

Communications of the ACM, December 2018, Vol. 61 No. 12, Pages 16-18
10.1145/3283224

A nurse asks a patient to describe her symptoms. A fast-food worker greets a customer and asks for his order. A tourist asks a police officer for directions to a local point of interest.

For those with all of their physical faculties intact, each of these scenarios can be viewed as a routine occurrence of everyday life, as they are able to easily and efficiently interact without any assistance. However, each of these interactions are significantly more difficult when a person is deaf, and must rely on the use of sign language to communicate.

In a perfect world, a person that is well-versed in communicating via sign language would be available at all times and at all places to communicate with a deaf person, particularly in settings there is a safety, convenience, or legal imperative to ensure real-time, accurate communication. However, it is exceptionally challenging, from both a logistical and cost perspective, to have a signer available at all times and in all places.

That's why, in many cases, sign language interpreting services are provided by Video Remote Interpreting, which uses a live interpreter that is connected to the person needing sign language services via a videoconferencing link. Institutions such as hospitals, clinics, and courts often prefer to use these services, because they can save money (interpreters not only bill for the actual translation service, but for the time and expenses incurred traveling to and from a job).

However, video interpreters sometimes do not match the accuracy of live interpreters, says Howard Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the self-described "premier civil rights organization of, by, and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America."

"This technology has failed too often to provide effective communications, and the stakes are higher in hospital and court settings," Rosenblum says, noting that "for in-person communications, sometimes technology is more of an impediment than a solution." Indeed, technical issues such as slow or intermittent network bandwidth often make the interpreting experience choppy, resulting in confusion or misunderstanding between the interpreter and the deaf person.

That's why researchers have been seeking ways in which a more effective technological solution or tool might handle the conversion of sign language to speech, which would be useful for a deaf person to communicate with a person who does not understand sign language, either via an audio solution or a visual, text-based solution. Similarly, there is a desire to allow real-time, audio-based speech or text to be delivered to a person who is deaf, often through sign language, via a portable device that can be carried and used at any time. .... "

Wearable Music

New limits to music accessibility.

New wearable tech lets users listen to live music through their skin

It's inspired by deaf fans of live concerts to help them "feel" the music. By Jenifer Ouellette in Ars Technica

" ... The tech is called Music: Not Impossible (M:NI), and it's the brainchild of former Hollywood producer turned entrepreneur Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs. The user's kit includes two battery-powered wristbands, two ankle bands, and a harness that fits across the back and shoulders. It interfaces directly with a venue's sound system and sends electrical pulses (coordinated with colored LED lights) corresponding to various tracks in the music to the sensors against the skin. Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer, and Pharrell are fans, with the latter declaring he had "felt the future" after trying M:NI out. The Las Vegas show was presented by Zappos Adaptive and the Church of Rock & Roll.  ... "