If someone with a hearing disability wants to watch a film that isn’t already subtitled, they have very few options. But now, Sony UK is developing a pair of glasses that display subtitles in time with a given film.
Sony’s Tim Potter tells the BBC that the subtitles would appear is though they’re on the screen:
“What we do is put the closed captions or the subtitles onto the screen of the glasses so it’s super-imposed on the cinema screen, [making it look]like the actual subtitles are on the cinema screen,” he said.
After trying them out, Charlie Swinbourne seemed pretty pleased with the effectiveness of the special specs. “The good thing about them is that you’re not refocusing. It doesn’t feel like the words are really near and the screen is far away. It feels like they’re together.”
The glasses are expected to start popping up in UK cinemas next year. But if you’re hard of hearing and already wear glasses, it might be time to consider contacts. [BBC via Yahoo]
Image: BBC