Josh Feldman wears black sunglasses. At first glance, he looks like a normal one, designed to protect him from sunlight. But the young man uses the glasses to read what people say to him. He has had hearing problems since he was born.

The glasses have an augmented reality screen that can superimpose any content on top of what the user sees.

An employee of the manufacturer Xrai checks whether the glasses fit and work well, talks to him. And Josh Feldmann can read a live transcript of what the clerk is saying into his glasses. Josh Feldman can have a conversation with someone without reading lips.

The scene can be seen in a promotional video from the manufacturer. It also proves that the glasses are not just limited to face-to-face conversations. Live transcription also works for phone calls.

A British start-up developed the glasses using existing technologies such as augmented reality and audio transcription. The product could transform the lives of 12 million adults with hearing loss in the UK.

It’s still not perfect, admits CEO Dan Scarfe. But one does not want to wait and admit that “perfection is the enemy of the feasible”. “We think it’s useful right now, so we want to get it into people’s hands. It’s going to get better and better in the coming weeks and months,” Scarfe said.

The technology still has some teething problems. The transcription, which relies on Amazon’s Alexa service, has trouble understanding group conversations, for example.

The team knows that the technology is not yet mature. He is already working on a second version that will include visual cues to better identify speakers and improve text.

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