SMART GLASSES

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​Beauty is In the Eye of the Smart Glasses

While Google Glass may not have taken off in the mass market, the technology behind it has the potential to change the way we experience theatre, and opening up access to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. There is also the possibility for language translation. ​
​Last month, the UK’s National Theatre made Smart Caption Glasses available at performances of War Horse and Hadestown. Available to hire for free at the theatre, the Epson-made glasses display captions on the lenses in real time. The glasses’ software can “hear” the dialogue on stage, so that the captions match exactly what the actors are saying. Patrons can control the size and color of the text with a remote control. Despite the hefty cost of £599 per pair, the National Theatre plans to make the smart glasses available for all their productions in 2019.
Developed after a class visit to a planetarium where deaf students could not follow the American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter when the lights were switched off, or when looking at the starry dome, students at Brigham Young University School of Business developed SignGlasses. SignGlasses,  allow students who are deaf to watch regular lectures with a live off-site ASL interpreter translating on the lenses. As well as the live component, SignGlasses allow students to record, and even bookmark timestamps within, the lecture with the interpreting for playback and revision.

These technologies have astounding implications for providing people who are deaf with access to the theatre, and for watching filmed live content. 
Sources
Articles
  • Samuel Burke, “Smart glasses for the hard of hearing are changing theater in London,” CNN Business (Oct 30, 2018)
  • Alex Marshall, “National Theater in London Offers Glasses With Live Subtitles,” NY Times (Oct 3, 2018)
  • Hannah Perry, “Signglasses,” The Deaf Dream (July 13, 2014)
  • Aliya Ram, “London’s National Theatre introduces smartglasses for audiences,” Financial Times (Oct 3, 3018)

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