With just an Android phone, a deaf person or someone who is hard of hearing can have a conversation with anyone. Live Transcribe is an app that types captions accurately in the language that’s being spoken. It’s powered by Google’s speech recognition technology and there are 70 languages to choose from.
Live Transcribe is easy to use, anywhere you have a Wi-Fi or network connection and it’s free to download.
The video below demonstrates how the app can be used.
According to Dr. Mohammad Objedat, Professor, Gallaudet University:
“Live Transcribe gives me a more flexible and efficient way to communicate with hearing people. I just love it, it really changed the way I solve my communication problem.”
And what’s next?
Google are currently working on the Live Relay project which aims to make phone calls easier for individuals who are deaf or non-speaking.
Live Relay uses on-device speech recognition and text-to-speech conversion to allow the phone to listen and speak on the users’ behalf while they type. By offering instant responses and predictive writing suggestions, Smart Reply and Smart Compose will help make typing fast enough to hold phone calls without any significant delays. Follow @googleaccess for updates.
The good: The captioning accuracy is excellent
The not so good: No offline option
The verdict: Works really well, a valuable tool for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
This is a powerful example of how technology can truly improve everyday communication.
Google Live Transcribe is a game-changer for accessibility, especially with its real-time accuracy and multi-language support. The lack of offline mode is a limitation, but overall it’s an incredibly valuable tool for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
Excited to see how features like Live Relay evolve next.