Epson Headset Glasses

The headset, manufactured 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 scroll across the bottom of the augmented reality lenses. A handheld keypad is attached to the glasses via cable to allow each user to customize 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 refined 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.