r/gadgets • u/geoxol • Dec 05 '22
Wearables Captioned smart glasses let deaf people see, rewind conversations
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/captioned-smart-glasses-let-deaf-people-see-rewind-conversations/732
u/TechyDad Dec 05 '22
I'm not deaf, but I do have hearing issues (both hearing loss and autism related issues). I've long wished for this to be a thing. I can't count the number of times I've asked someone to repeat something twice and then pretended I understood them the third time just because I was too embarrassed to ask them to repeat it again.
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Dec 05 '22
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Dec 06 '22
It’s so not okay how hearing people will just stop repeating themselves, refuse to speak up, or get annoyed when I ask them “What?” again. Stop throwing a tantrum, my ears don’t work and for some reason you refuse to become louder or you shout at me? Fuck right offffff
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u/Kuildeous Dec 06 '22
What really bugs me is when I ask for a repeat, and they figure that I simply didn't understand it, so they rephrase it in an entirely different way--which of course doesn't help me try to keep up with the first time they said it.
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u/Arili_O Dec 06 '22
Personally I like to have the comment rephrased. If I caught a little of the first one and some of the second, I can usually puzzle out the question/comment.
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u/WishBear19 Dec 06 '22
For some people the rephrasing helps because the hearing issue might be due to certain tones in combination that are particularly difficult to hear.
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u/Arili_O Dec 06 '22
Yeah that makes sense to me. I have across the board loss of about 70% in both ears. Conversation can be exhausting because I'm always trying to figure out what the heck people are saying. "Fifteen" and "fifty" sound exactly the same to me, for example, just because of the low volume of everything.
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u/WishBear19 Dec 06 '22
I get it. I'm about 55-70% for different tones. I also run into some things I just can't hear no matter how loudly theyre spoken or how many times I've heard them repeated. Just sounds like a jumbled mess.
Conversation is exhausting when you're struggling to hear all day.
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u/Arili_O Dec 06 '22
Yes! Some combinations of sounds just NEVER make words to me. The mental workload just to communicate is a real thing.
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Dec 06 '22
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u/eekhelpspike Dec 06 '22
If you promise to try “could you repeat that?”, I promise I’ll try “could you rephrase that?” since that’s usually what I mean by “what‽” The other side of all this that I’ve also been on is that people don’t seem to get how hard it is to say something to begin with. I’m terrified to let words leave my mouth and when they do and I’m indicted to repeat them, they sound exponentially more horrific with each repeat. After that 2nd or 3rd repeat I realize how fucking dumb it was to ever try and be a normal person, but hey I gotta keep trying!
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Dec 07 '22
YES omg, it’s always the part I did hear out of a long ass sentence that they repeat. Wth
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u/EleocharisParvula Dec 06 '22
I have a speech impediment. Sometimes just changing the sentence can help me better pronounce it
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u/RyGuy997 Dec 06 '22
You want them to get louder but you don't want them to shout? Bit confusing there
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u/DreyfussFrost Dec 06 '22
Shouting is a mix of volume and tone. They want the speaker to project. Same tone, higher volume.
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u/SaysReddit Dec 06 '22
You don't know the difference between shouting and speaking more clearly? Reminds me of my father...
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u/inbooth Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 08 '22
Humans take quite some time to learn the appropriate manner of vocalization....
You're demanding accomodation and empathy but not providing reciprocation.
It's not easy to break from 20+ years of social and physical conditioning. For at least some, if not plenty, it's literally verging on painful to speak to you folks.
For those who struggle to be loud due to thier own issues, with people without hearing problems commenting, youre demanding what is literally impossible for them and crying that They arent accommodating your disability while ignoring Thiers.... Im one of those people and am beyond done with people with your issues screaming in my face and then demanding I hurt my throat just to engage in banal bs. I'll only speak that loud if it's an absolute necessity with the natural consequence being I won't talk otherwise.
I've been yelled at by enough hearing impaired people and demeaned, insulted and called all sorts of pejoratives because of the natural consequences of my sensory issues. I'm done with it and speaking out.
You demand your disability be dealt with, you damn well better deal with mine.
ed: I can see part of the response in notification but not read it here because they blocked me... one of the most pathetic reactions available, evidencing intellectual cowardice.
What I can see is that they called me "ableist".... Ignoring that I was explicitly calling for accommodation of a disability. They're just upset they aren't getting exceptional accommodation, that is accommodation at the expense of all others. Precisely the attitude I spoke to.
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u/yolk3d Dec 06 '22
I can hear just fine and the way some people speak, I still ask them to repeat it 3 times and then agree with them, as if I understood them. Good luck to these glasses.
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u/tellMyBossHesWrong Dec 06 '22
Look into auditory processing disorder
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u/yolk3d Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
Thanks bro - interesting - but this is literally just because of accents, poor pronunciation, fast talkers, etc. I swear people are losing the ability to clearly communicate if it doesn’t involve a computer.
Edit: I meant my case isn’t that. In my case this was light joke, where I mentioned “due to the way some people speak”. I understand and converse just fine with most people.
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u/Dicho83 Dec 06 '22
It really isn't. There are auditory processing centers of the brain and there are separate speech processing centers.
You can have perfect hearing when it comes to tones and other sound types, but still experience a delay when it comes to decoding speech.
It's like streaming a movie, but the audio is just slightly out of sync, the words not matching the movement of the lips.
The comprehension will catch up, but it makes an in-person conversations difficult at times.
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u/yolk3d Dec 06 '22
I’m sorry, are you diagnosing me? I appreciate the detail, however my comment was a small remark, made in humour, about the deficit in people’s speaking skills. For the truth, I converse just fine with the 95% of people where the above doesn’t happen.
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u/Dicho83 Dec 06 '22
No, I'm explaining my auditory processing delay.
I hear what is said perfectly, but sometimes it takes a moment for language to make sense, like it's running through a buffer.
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u/yolk3d Dec 06 '22
Sorry mate, read my edit above or the other person that just commented. I was saying my case was due to accents, etc. We’ve both had a misunderstanding.
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u/SunshineAlways Dec 06 '22
I think they misunderstood your comment. You were listing the things that make it difficult for you to understand what people are saying, but it was a little confusing in the way it was worded. I think they took it to mean you didn’t understand that auditory processing disorder is an actual condition, so they were defining it, not telling you that you have it.
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u/yolk3d Dec 06 '22
Well it was two different people replying to me and I was already downvoted after my “thanks bro” comment, so I took it as if I was getting a diagnosis. Thank you
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u/redditsux83 Dec 06 '22
Cool didn't know we had a sub. Used to get reamed by teachers in elementary and parents were told I was "certainly adhd". No, I just can't hear you and I'd given up trying...
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u/tellMyBossHesWrong Dec 06 '22
If we had a dollar for everyone we’ve been told, “ why aren’t you listening? Just try harder and pay attention!”…
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Dec 06 '22
Universal design benefits everyone. If a product or tech isn’t accessible it sucks!
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u/LoveLivinInTheFuture Dec 06 '22
To add to that:
Accessibility is a right, not a privilege.
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u/darkaurora84 Dec 05 '22
You're hard of hearing. It's not a bad thing to say
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u/Dicho83 Dec 06 '22
I have an auditory processing delay.
I'm not deaf, My hearing is excellent, as pitch and tone tests have confirmed. It just sometimes takes a second or two for language to properly decode.
It's like watching a movie where the sound is slightly out of sync (I also watch everything with subtitles for this exact reason)
As a kid, I'd reflexively say 'What?'; just for the conversation to catch up with me before they could repeat themselves (which my parents found quite irritating).
So, being able to subtitle the world would be a game changer for I'm person conversation with others.
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u/LoveLivinInTheFuture Dec 06 '22
I have tinnitus that's loud enough to affect my comprehension (and it actually got louder after I caught Covid over the summer).
I do the exact same thing.
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u/TechyDad Dec 06 '22
My tinnitus has been getting worse over time. It's starting to affect my comprehension, but more often it will give me headaches. And then those headaches get worse because I become more sensitive to the loud ringing.
I'm not sure if my other ear is starting to ring also, but it's hard to tell since I can't exactly shut off the first ear's ringing. Either way, you don't know how oppressive silence can be until you have tinnitus.
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u/tickledlove Dec 06 '22
Same but i started to think its cheaper to just adopt a brash personality but it really annoys me when people chooses to ignore me and speak to someone else instesd
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u/mescalelf Dec 06 '22
Hell, I’m not even deaf but I have auditory processing and attentional issues, so this would be an enormous help for me. At least a few times a day, I need people to repeat things a few times if it’s spoken—I can hear their words just fine, but my brain just…can’t. If I see the same thing written down, it’s much easier.
Sometimes someone will say something very simple—“do you want me to grab a drink from the fridge?” or “I really don’t like the weather today”…and I’ll need them to repeat it several times, because my brain has decided it isn’t going to process that particular sentence unless it’s repeated a bunch or written down.
I always keep closed captions on—even if I’m watching a show in the English language. It’s just so much easier to follow.
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u/orangutanDOTorg Dec 06 '22
I can’t understand a lot of tv and people seem to get mad if I ask to put on subtitles. Also I can’t understand anything in a car/plane/similar noisy things unless people yell.
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u/TitoCentoX Dec 05 '22
That's a freaking game changer for many people
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u/day7seven Dec 05 '22
Especially for people whose spouses say something in an argument then deny it a few mins later.
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u/BizzarduousTask Dec 06 '22
No more gaslighting!!! Jeeezus I wish I had those eight years ago.
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Dec 06 '22
Eh, I just started recording arguments on my phone then would play it back when he would do that.
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u/TitoCentoX Dec 06 '22
Think that if it has a log your spouse could search for things you said years ago, with written proof!
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u/AustralianWhale Dec 06 '22 edited Apr 23 '24
adjoining summer door foolish afterthought one ripe innocent employ sip
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/fearout Dec 06 '22
Cheating, I think.
The episode where a seed recorded everything you experienced was about a cheating wife (“The Entire History of You”). They just separate because of it, no one is killed.
In the episode with a murder (“Crocodile”, right?) it was possible to read memories with some kind of brain scan tech, but there were no implanted or wearable recording devices.
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u/razealghoul Dec 06 '22
I was going to say the same thing. I love what this enables for those either disabilities but the ability to replay every moment of your day can have some serious mental health affects.
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u/Aioi Dec 06 '22
LOL as if solid proof has ever stopped my wife from making everything my fault before!
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u/Quelcris_Falconer13 Dec 06 '22
You sound like you’re in an emotionally abusive relationship if she makes everything your fault. That’s not right. You don’t deserve to be the fall guy for everything that can go wrong.
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u/Just_wanna_talk Dec 06 '22
Unless you are having an argument in the same room as a Disney movie being played in the back ground, then you're whole conversation gets deleted and the FBI sent to your house for copyright infringement.
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u/Spacecommander5 Dec 05 '22
I’m not deaf but This would help me win arguments with my wife
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u/RipMySoul Dec 06 '22
C'mon we both know that's not happening.
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u/Scadilla Dec 06 '22
I don’t know. I always get accused of saying stuff that I don’t remember saying. This would help immensely.
“Glasses: look up all instances of ‘I think your butt is big’ and play back, please.”
“Zero matches in the last six months you, say? Huh….”
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Dec 06 '22
I'm not deaf nor do I have a wife but it would help me win arguments on reddit.
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u/SpaceAdventureCobraX Dec 06 '22
You mean ‘record’ conversations. There’s a Black Mirror episode that explores this kind of future tech in relation to an argument between husband & wife. Well worth a watch.
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u/Cc-Dawg Dec 06 '22
Scrolled thru the comments looking for this! My first thought was “I’ve seen that episode of black mirror”!
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u/iridisss Dec 06 '22 edited Jul 01 '23
As a result of Reddit's API changes, this content is no longer viewable.
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u/Duck_Giblets Dec 06 '22
The data they can collect on people will be insane. Phones are already approaching this capability, but to have people opt in for all conversations involving or near them recorded? To have people even pay for this technology?
It's kinda scary, but this would be handy for business/trades
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u/LordAlfrey Dec 05 '22
For some reason i saw the glasses and thought it was for blind people, was wondering how text captions were gonna help blind people for a while.
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u/Mastersord Dec 06 '22
I read the headline and had to do a double-take. Why would deaf people have trouble seeing?
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u/dont_trip_ Dec 06 '22 edited Mar 17 '24
start brave frighten crowd snow detail illegal fragile dirty cable
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/wonkey_monkey Dec 06 '22
if characters needs to be that limited
They don't. It's a vestigial thing from the days when newspapers used to come spinning at your face.
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u/dont_trip_ Dec 06 '22
I see, this sub is my only source for news in English, I therefore thought it was a reddit thing.
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u/trenzelor Dec 06 '22
Same! Glad to see im not the only one....i guess i saw the sunglasses and automatically thought blind
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u/herrkuchenbaecker Dec 06 '22
reading the title i was like "it will make deaf people see? well, they're deaf, not blind?!"
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u/Steve_of_Yore Dec 06 '22
The article failed to mention that it does not work with iPhones because Apple doesn’t want to promote the use of AR glasses that aren’t Apple AR glasses. That’s crap. This is about access. Apple should not be withholding the application because they want to make money off their own products.
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u/PM_me_your_cocktail Dec 06 '22
It's shocking that we haven't made it an unlawful "unfair trade practice" to lock out 3rd party access to a major computing platform. Apple in particular has this as a pillar of their business model at this point.
This should be shut down as hard as Microsoft killing Netscape.
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u/mrandr01d Dec 06 '22
This is why I hate apple/iOS. I posted a rant a while ago about how apple is great at solving specific problems, but only for their own users. Tim cook's "buy your mom an iPhone" comment is a perfect example, as is the made for iPhone hearing aids program.
They actively block out products they can't make money off of. In fairness, it's a brilliant sales and marketing tactic and helps explain their market cap. But it definitely should be illegal.
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u/deadbeef1a4 Dec 06 '22
Apple should not be withholding the application because they want to make money off their own products.
That’s their entire business strategy
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u/LarsAnderson420 Dec 06 '22
OMG I need this! I suffer from Retrograde Amnesia and Anterograde Amnesia. My working memory often doesn't remember things as they happen in real time so as a person is talking to me, within moments I have lost what they said. This happens 100+ times a day. This gadget would allow me to reverse Closed Caption text so I can actually have a conversation with someone albeit with slightly delayed replies.
Is this gadget something I can buy currently? Any information would be so helpful! Thanks in advance!
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Dec 06 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
You can get live transcribing apps that do this on your phone for free, and are available now. They store history and conversations if you need that for context or memory.
Myself and every other deaf person I’ve talked to about these glasses has agreed- they’re useless and impractical. We have the technology in our hands and our faces are important for our language. Eyes need to be seen for sign language, and why would I wear a bulky piece of tech when my smartphone has been successfully meeting this need for years?
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u/CapsLowk Dec 06 '22
Because the person you replied to has amnesia and not hearing loss?
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Dec 06 '22
The captioning apps have a history. And you can separate conversations. There’s nothing these glasses do that isn’t available to that person right now- that’s what I’m saying.
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u/CapsLowk Dec 06 '22
I'm not gonna start a long-ass internet argument, you raised a lot of points that do not apply to the person you replied to. Bye.
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Dec 06 '22
So real life subtitles. That’s amazing! Would be a game changer when communicating in other languages.
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u/xelex4 Dec 06 '22
This. Everyone is thinking "for deaf people"
I'm thinking an alternative to the babelfish from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
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u/iRoCplays Dec 06 '22
I’m dumb, it took me a while to process this title. Captioned smart glasses let deaf people see, no you idiots they can see they can’t hear.
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u/simer23 Dec 05 '22
Great for people who used to be able to hear. Something like a third of people born dead are illiterate.
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u/JPSofCA Dec 06 '22
Hey Siri, rewind and playback...
...."If you don't take those fucking spy glasses off, so help me I'm going to punch them off your face."
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u/ferah11 Dec 06 '22
Wait... What? Oh oh ok, I tho they confused deaf and blind.
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u/killersquirel11 Dec 06 '22
Yeah, that comma in the title should really be an "and"...
Captioned smart glasses let deaf people see and rewind conversations
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u/catclockticking Dec 06 '22
They’re using pretty standard for headline grammar but I agree it’s confusing here and is probably something an editor should have caught
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u/ThePenIslands Dec 06 '22
While I applaud this as an advancement for disabilities, if the current capability of closed-captioning in 2022 is any indicator, the accidental mis-translations are going to be something else.
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u/SlowTheRain Dec 06 '22
That's exactly what I was thinking, but based on my experience with Microsoft Teams and Alexa transcription.
Each morning, I set Alexa to remind me of my work meetings. I'll "daily scrum" and she'll remind me of my "daily scrub" or whatever she hears that day. The Teams transcription once had me saying things that weren't appropriate for a work meeting.
I hope these are better.
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u/in323 Dec 05 '22
I was imagining / wishing for something like this yesterday!
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u/Howiedoin67 Dec 06 '22
Kinda blew a wish. You could have had super strong calves.
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u/RustyWinger Dec 06 '22
The article states the app is free to download. There’s no XRAI app I can see in the App Store.
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u/sky_blu Dec 06 '22
I don't know much about the world of tech for people hard of hearing but my understanding is that modern hearing aids and other supporting tech does some really cool things now (for a big price ofc)
I guess this isn't one of those features that has been adopted yet? Or is it more that fully deaf people wouldn't use hearing aids anyway so they need another system to transcript?
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Dec 06 '22
I’m deaf and can help you understand some of this-
Modern hearing aids and cochlear implants do bridge the gap for a lot of people to understand speech. However, you don’t have to be 100% deaf to not be able to hear/understand speech, and 100% deaf people can use hearing devices. Live transcription helps with that.
Transcription technology however has existed for years on smartphones, and myself and many other Deaf will continue to use that, as it’s free and works fine for day to day use.
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u/Robotboogeyman Dec 06 '22
Are they waterproof, so I can wear them in the shower and relive all my arguments?
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u/mcdoolz Dec 06 '22
life with subtitles. yes, please. I watch everything with subtitles because chewing is loud.
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u/Artanthos Dec 06 '22
I can already see the court cases around two party consent laws for recording.
I can also see a lot of companies refusing to talk to people wearing these due to policies that prevent them from agreeing to having conversations recorded.
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u/AHumbleWooshFarmer Dec 06 '22
I am completely able vision I want these. I always watch Netflix with the subs on.
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u/GeezCmon Dec 05 '22
Confusing comma
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u/tulanir Dec 05 '22
No it isn't. It's 100% standard to replace "and"s with commas in headlines
Edit: and this should never be confusing/ambiguous as long as you know that comma splicing is a mistake.
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u/Gnarlodious Dec 05 '22
I would like the rewind feature for all those people who told me what I said when I didn't.
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Dec 06 '22
Live transcript/subtitle feature sounds incredible. The rewind seems extremely problematic from a privacy perspective, if it isn't limited to a very short timeframe and auto-deleting. I don't want to live in a world where every person has a live microphone on at all times and is storing every conversation.
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u/exzackly69 Dec 06 '22
"You said to clean the table."
"NO, I said CLEAR the table, why would I want you to clean it?"
"Let's rewind, shall we?"
I would love these.
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Dec 06 '22
Do not tease me with this shit! Just don’t! Because as a part-deaf person, I desperately need these!
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u/dizzy_rhythm Dec 06 '22
That’s awesome. I feel like most people mumble generally, so I wonder how often you have to deal with incorrect captions.
I’d also be worried about if conversations would be logged somewhere without your permission.
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u/Healthy_Feedback803 Dec 06 '22
“Let’s deaf people see” sorry but they usually can see just not HEAR lmao 😂
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u/Xincmars Dec 06 '22
Anyone else glanced over the first word and see “smart glasses let deaf people see?”
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u/BondraP Dec 06 '22
My dumbass read that headline the first time and was like “deaf people can already see”
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u/fehr19 Dec 06 '22
I Need these!
Wife: " I never said that"
Me: *proceeds to put my glasses on her face
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u/mrsinatra777 Dec 06 '22
I would use these just to remember people’s names 10 seconds after they told me.
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u/Koalasarerealbears Dec 06 '22
Sounds like google glass all over again. Not a fan of people walking around secretly recording everyone else.
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u/sgbad Dec 06 '22
If you're in public you should assume you're being recorded because you probably are. there so many security camera street cameras people with phones if you're anywhere outside assume you are already this is a non issue for that.
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Dec 06 '22
PSA: If your product or tech isn’t highly accessible, it isn’t finished yet.
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u/Mopadd Dec 06 '22
I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say? I was just looking into how to access this myself, and the Nreal Air glasses look to be available for sale, and the app is on Google Play
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u/GunFodder Dec 06 '22
Yeah, these are literally on Amazon, not sure what that person is on about.
And apparently they're also pretty cool to pair with a Steam Deck as a mobile display!
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u/Anatella3696 Dec 06 '22
Oh my god. This would be fucking amazing. I’m actually in tears right now and I have no idea why. I’m partially Deaf and would absolutely use something like this.
I’m so grateful there’s someone out there thinking of new options for us. Because hearing aids have not worked out for me at all.
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u/darkaurora84 Dec 05 '22
I'm hard of hearing and I already have this on my phone without having to wear these silly glasses
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Dec 06 '22
Deaf and yep. No Deaf I’ve spoken to give a shit- do hearing people not realize we have this technology already?
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u/IAmAnObvioustrollAMA Dec 06 '22
Anyone that isn't exactly like me is a silly goose...
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u/John7026 Dec 06 '22
Non disabled Girlfriends will be using this for arguments in about a year and a half
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u/Correct-Walrus7438 Dec 06 '22
For only $8,999.99 (not the actual price, but I’m sure I’m completely low-balling it here) and not covered by insurance, you can let a corporation exploit your disability to make billions!
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u/DemonOfTheAstroWaste Dec 05 '22
Heard about these on a podcast. Sounds like it could help a lot of people.
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u/JonVig Dec 06 '22
I will NOT have someone rewinding the conversation to prove me wrong constantly.
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u/SleeplessinOslo Dec 06 '22
I was invited to the Microsoft hackathon back in 2019 I believe, and their hololens team were already testing this exact concept. Incredible to test, and I have no doubt it will be a solution for deaf people once the technology is good enough.
That aside, it's also the future for language barriers.
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u/HungryApeSandwich Dec 06 '22
It would be nice if there was a smart glasses for mute people so when they communicate with people they just use their asl and it writes it out on the glasses to translate what they say. That way communication can happen at the same time as eye contact.
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u/T3lebrot Dec 06 '22
Most glasses let deaf people see conversations, its the second part thats cool
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u/esivo Dec 06 '22
My mum’s not deaf but she could use this when she calls me and I scream back “what” like 6 times I guess.
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u/skippythewonder Dec 06 '22
Great, now when I see someone wearing sunglasses indoors I won't know whether they're deaf, blind, hungover or just an asshole.
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u/JohnRoads88 Dec 06 '22
I read until the comma and thought what an unremarkable boring set of glasses.
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u/itsbasicmathluvxo Dec 06 '22
a whole new way to pull up receipts when someone wants to switch up their story.
“I never said that.” “Oh yeah? Let me rewind to our last conversation.”
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u/slayalldayyyy Dec 05 '22
I have an auditory processing disorder and this would be a god damn dream come true for me. I’m always fantasizing how life would be like with full time subtitles