International. Sony has collaborated with technology company VerbaVoice in providing accessible communications for the hearing impaired. The audio content of a performance or projection is sent through VerbaVoice's cloud-based online platform to an interpreter, who converts this material to text on the fly.
The text is then displayed on the user's device. This service will soon also be available through the VerbaVoice "iCap" app on Sony's SmartEyeglass.
These augmented reality glasses, which connect via Bluetooth to a Sony Xperia smartphone, will replace screens, monitors and tablets for reading text in the future. The VerbaVoice app allows people with hearing difficulties to use the glasses to follow live performances, meetings or political debates without having to look away from the speaker. The developers of VerbaVoice have already successfully implemented the iCap app on the glasses and its launch is scheduled for a few weeks from now.
Ludger Philippsen, Director of Medical System Solutions at Sony Europe, is very pleased with the collaboration: "We are delighted to be working with such a respected company in developing a live subtitling solution that will help thousands of German-speakers with hearing difficulties. Thanks to the software development kit, programmers can easily develop new applications that expand the functionality of these smart glasses."
"Sony's SmartEyeglass is exactly the solution we were looking for. Its transparent screen allows the user to follow a dialogue with live subtitles, without missing anything that happens in the room. We are proud to be working with a partner as prepared as Sony in advancing accessibility," said Robin Ribback, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder of VerbaVoice.
The developers of VerbaVoice are currently working on using the GPS coordinates of mobile devices to adapt subtitles to the user's location. This means that Sony's SmartEyeglass will automatically display the correct subtitles when the person in question enters the room.
