Sometimes simple inventions can have profound impacts on the daily lives of millions of people. Here are three which, if they do not promise to restore sight to the blind, are not very far from it.
Nuance Audio: glasses for listening
We did not expect that EssilorLuxottica, the largest manufacturer of glasses and contact lenses in the world, would make so much noise – literally and figuratively – at the start of the year with new glasses, which allow obviously to correct vision, if necessary, but which also improve the hearing of those who wear them.
The parent company of popular brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban recently acquired the Israeli company Nuance Hearing, and this is what allows it these days to present a new range called Nuance Audio, simply.
Nuance Audio glasses have essentially the same characteristics as other similar products to which microphones, headphones and a Bluetooth antenna have been added. Despite this electronic addition, they have an overall reasonable weight of 40 grams. They need two and a half hours to charge their battery from a small wireless pad designed for this purpose.
This is where the comparison with other brands (like Ray-Ban and Meta, in fact) ends. Because Nuance glasses are not aimed at an audience looking for a way to listen to music or talk on the phone without using traditional headphones. They are aimed at people who suffer from mild to moderate hearing loss and who are reluctant to invest in a professional hearing aid.
Much like modern Bluetooth headphones, Nuance glasses can eliminate some ambient noise and enhance sound coming from a source in front of you. They make the voice of an interlocutor clearer, the volume of which can be adjusted directly through the glasses or using a mobile application.
The price of Nuance lenses is unknown, but we suspect it will be much less than the $1,000 to $4,000 that a professional hearing aid can cost. And they’ll look better when they go on sale, probably later this year.
Whispp: give voice
It’s not easy to make a phone call when you suffer from a voice or language disorder, for example when you stutter or, even worse, when you have dysphasia. The emergence of video calling applications does nothing to facilitate the expression of people who cannot express themselves orally as they would like.
This is where the Whispp mobile app comes into play. The application is installed on an iPhone or Android phone and acts as a voice or video telephone service which enhances — and not just a little! — the tone of voice to make it completely natural. Unlike text-to-text apps that convert text to speech, Whispp is instantaneous and does not require the use of a keyboard. We can whisper words to her which she will transmit out loud to her interlocutor at the other end of the (wireless) phone.
Whispering protects the vocal cords. It also, in many cases, reduces stuttering. In short, it solves a lot of problems. As a bonus, the application uses artificial intelligence which also learns to reproduce the user’s voice. The goal of the people behind Whispp is squarely to restore their voice to the approximately 300 million people around the world who have lost their full use of it.
The Whispp app is already in the Apple and Google app stores. It is free to download, but costs between $10 and $20 per month to use.
Sony Access: video games differently
We talked about it last spring, Sony finally released its Access controller aimed at video game enthusiasts who hate traditional controllers, whose keys are too small, too close together or too similar.
The Access controller was designed in collaboration with players suffering from a motor disorder making it impossible to use the controller sold with the PlayStation 5 console. It is an ingenious, light and comfortable accessory, regardless of your position. game. The bottom of the controller is flat, which allows you to place it on your lap or on a table rather than having to hold it in your hand at all times.
The large keys that make up its rounded pad can be customized in around thirty ways to make it easier to use and improve reaction time – a crucial element in any good video game. The whole thing is completed by an oversized broom handle which is also very practical. It certainly lacks the vibrant feedback of more traditional controllers, and we would have welcomed a few more keys or a touchpad. You also can’t pair this controller with a phone or tablet to remotely control your PS5, but you can pair more than one controller. Maybe it will be for a second generation? Who knows, with Sony…
What is certain is that this accessory will make many people want to play again, for $120.
Sometimes technology is that simple.