Wearable Subtitles: Augmenting Spoken Communication with Lightweight Eyewear for All-day Captioning

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DOI

Mobile solutions can help transform speech and sound into visual representations for people who are deaf or hard-ofhearing (DHH). However, where handheld phones present challenges, head-worn displays (HWDs) could further communication through privately transcribed text, handsfree use, improved mobility, and socially acceptable interactions. In this work, we introduce a lightweight HWD system specifically designed to augment communication through sound transcription for a full workday. Through a hybrid, low-power architecture, we enable up to 15 hours of continuous use. We describe a large survey (n=501) and three user studies with 24 deaf/hard-of-hearing participants which inform our development and help us refine our prototypes. Our studies and prior research identify critical challenges for the adoption of HWD systems which we address through extended battery life, lightweight and balanced mechanical design (54 g), fitting options, and form factors that are compatible with current social norms.