Smartglasses Assist With LIVE Theater Performances

Augmented reality or AR proved its value last week when the National Theater in London introduced smartglasses that provide real-time subtitles for hearing
impaired audience members.

Epson's  'smart caption glasses'

The 'smart-caption glasses' show the dialogue as the on-stage actors say it, allowing the users to keep their eyes on the stage. The glasses are produced by
Epson and were over two years in development to get things right. Originally, the captions were to be displayed on the audience members' phones but that became too distracting for the other audience members.

The software developed is able to follow along with the speech live and sends the words to the glasses via WiFi. The software also recognizes lighting changes and will alter the placement of captions for optimal viewing.

The glasses retail for $1,050 per pair. Which is not out of reasons given the cost of the normal movie theater hearing impaired products' costs.

So, once again AR is applied to a real world situation and proved to be very valuable. Future uses of this technology will include real-time language translation.

By: Jim Lavorato
Cinema Much Gusto