New AI tech helping deaf community experience communication in whole new way - KSL.com

techsooper.blogspot.com

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Justin Osmond grinned broadly as he sat across from Dan Scarfe in November 2022, so excited to try Scarfe's new technology that he couldn't sleep the night before, he said.

His excitement wasn't unfounded.

As part of its soft launch, the British-based software company introduced him to "XRAI Glass," an artificial intelligence program that transcribes conversations in real-time for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. The wearer can then read the captions broadcast on a pair of specially designed glasses and engage in the conversation.

XRAI's software acts through a phone app that can connect to the glasses through a wire, captioning conversations and broadcasting them on the glasses, according to Scarfe, the CEO and founder of XRAI.

"It was just mind-blowing," Osmond said. "Being born with severe to profound hearing loss, my whole life I've had to rely and depend on lip reading. So instead of having to make someone feel awkward by just staring at their lips, I didn't have to do that in dialogue once I put the glasses on."

As a member of the musically talented Osmond family — Justin Osmond is the son of Merrill Osmond, lead singer of The Osmonds and The Osmond Brothers — he noted how having hearing loss would sometimes disconnect him from his loved ones.

"I know firsthand what it's like to feel disconnected from life, from your family and your friends, because of a lack of hearing, a lack of communication, a lack of understanding — all that leads to a lack of hope," Osmond said, adding that he hopes he can "educate the public of all the wonderful resources out there, especially with artificial intelligence that's now available to the public."

Scarfe created the XRAI program in an effort to also connect with his family.

"My grandad has been gradually losing his hearing over the last 10-15 years, and so I was very much focused around audio," Scarfe said. "But then it was Christmas around last year (when) I suddenly thought, 'Well, hang on. I've just got this all wrong here. Actually, we should be using augmented reality.'"

After the birth of his idea, the company was incorporated in May of 2022, and is now known worldwide, Scarfe said. His software company has received several awards for its technology, including the Startup Tech Company of the Year, Best Assistive Technology App, the Technology for Good Award, and the Smart Tech Award Highly Commended.

Imagine what it's going to be like a year or two, three years from now with how fast technology is going. They're just absolutely incredible.

–Justin Osmond

The November 2022 soft launch campaign introduced Scarfe's XRAI program to a couple of individuals — including Osmond — to showcase its abilities. Osmond himself, acting as an ambassador for several hearing products and CEO and founder of the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund team, was a key figure in XRAI's launch. After the XRAI team reached out to him, Osmond said that he was more than happy to help "reconnect the deaf and hard of hearing with their family and friends."

Just a few weeks ago, the program was made available to the public after being updated with more advanced features and quicker transcriptions. Already, individuals around the world are using it, with U.S. user growth spiking by 1,500% since November of last year, according to an XRAI press release.

In the first launch, XRAI used to be only compatible with Android, but now, with its next few launches and updates, it's compatible with iOS devices, allowing it to connect to Apple phones and products. While it works best with Wi-Fi, the dialogue's transcription can still process on the phone even if there is no internet connection.

The new editions to XRAI glass also provided new, other stylish versions of the glasses, Scarfe said. XRAI glasses are available for purchase through XRAI's website, while XRAI's app is free on both iPhone and Android app stores, according to Scarfe.

Assisting people who are deaf or hard of hearing is just the beginning of XRAI's plans. The glasses can also act as a translation device. XRAI can transcribe in 76 different languages and 140 different dialects, Scarfe added.

"Different transcription engines work better in different languages and different dialects, different pronunciations, and so we don't want people to be forced to use the same one," Scarfe said.

Osmond even noted that when he was in other countries, he could put on the glasses, switch the transcription language, and have other languages automatically translated for him.

"I go to a lot of underdeveloped countries, and I don't know Spanish very well — I put (the XRAI glasses) on and I'll change the setting to transcribe it into Spanish," Osmond said. "And I put these on, and I start speaking, and then when they start speaking in Spanish, it pops up in English — I can literally understand what they're saying in Spanish."

XRAI also connects to ChatGPT, Scarfe added, which allows the user to ask the AI to summarize the conversation and answer other questions in the app while providing its intelligent answers on the glasses.

Scarfe said with the announcement of Apple's new virtual reality headset, XRAI could also expand its influence. Because the Apple glasses will be using a program compatible with XRAI's app, one could potentially use both the Apple glasses and the XRAI app to assist in transcription services.

Osmond noted that even though this is just the program's second launch, it has already made leaps ahead in assisting people who are both hearing and hearing-impaired.

"Imagine what it's going to be like a year or two, three years from now with how fast technology is going," Osmond said. "They're just absolutely incredible."