A new and exciting invention now allows deaf people to see conversations in real time. Using augmented reality (AR) glasses and a smartphone, deaf and hearing-impaired people are also able to join in everyday conversations.

The AR glasses were developed by Dan Scarfe after he had dinner with his family. The man saw his hearing-impaired grandfather sitting alone in silence while the rest of the family were talking excitedly. This reminded him of his grandfather who was always watching TV shows with subtitles (字幕). Because of this experience, he realized that he should do something to help.

Scarfe got to work with an AR glasses maker. Six months later, a new pair of AR glasses came out.

The glasses first receive the audio (音频) and send it to a connected smartphone. The phone then creates subtitles from that audio. With the help of software, these subtitles appear on the user’s glasses screen.

The company first tested the glasses in the UK. The UK was chosen as a testing ground because over 12 million adults in Britain have hearing loss. However, when the product goes global, it could change the lives of some 430 million people. This is about 5% of the world’s population and includes 70 million people with total hearing loss.

This is a game changer for the deaf. Mark Atkinson, who is using the AR glasses, says, “As a deaf person, I am blown away by this new technology. When I tried on the glasses for the first time, I was so amazed. Real-time subtitles made me become part of the conversation as never before.”