This week Google released two new apps to the Play Store that are intended to help users who are challenged with hearing issues. The apps – Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier – were designed to help people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing by increasing the level of autonomy they can maintain in their lives while still interacting with others.
One of the driving forces behind the apps was Chet Gnegy who watched his fellow research scientist and teammate, Dimitri Kanevsky, struggle in some situations. Chet noted that while Dimitri, who had been deaf since childhood, had technology available to him to help with communication, it was expensive and cumbersome to use which in turn pretty much limited it to formal business use.
Capitalizing on Google's strengths in speech recognition, Chet worked with Google's Accessibility team to create Live Transcribe. The app functions as a close-captioning device for everyday life by displaying transcribed text as white text on a black screen on a user's smartphone. Google included the ability to accept input via external microphones to improve accuracy and users can use a keyboard to type out responses. The app is currently rolling out in a limited beta status and is available in more than 70 languages and dialects.
If a user does not need the capabilities of Live Transcribe but find themselves struggling, especially in situations where there is a lot of background noise, Google is also releasing Sound Amplifier. According to Google the app was actually announced at Google I/O last year, but is finally ready for users to grab it in the Play Store. Using wired headphones, Sound Amplifier will filter, augment and amplify speakers relative to the background noise in an environment. Sound Amplifier works on Android 9 Pie or later and Google will pre-install it on Pixel 3 phones.
Once installed, both apps are configured through the phone's accessibility settings.
If you are interested in either of these apps, you can use the links below to grab them from the Play Store.
Download Now: Live Transcribe
Download Now: Sound Amplifier
source: Google
