Reading and writing fill in the blanks
The headset, by Epson in partnership with the Royal National Theatre, is heavier than normal reading glasses but much lighter than bulky virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift. The lenses look like a typical pair of glasses, but they fit inside a large gray casing that sits on the sides of your head. When you look through the glasses, closed captions across the bottom of the augmented reality lenses. A handheld keypad is attached to the glasses via cable to allow each user to the color, size and position of the closed captions. Here’s how it works: The script from an opening-night production is fed into speech software, which follows the performance and adjusts the captions accordingly. This process is using sound, video and lighting cues. Some hard of hearing users wear it so they can read lips at the same time as reading the captions. The technology has been successfully used in US movie theaters, but the Royal National Theatre’s challenges are greater because their performances are live.