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Conversation subtitles

For when you just can't hear somebody
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I have a co-worker who speaks unbelievably quietly. Rather than constantly asking him "Huh?" "Pardon?" "What did you say?", or pretending i heard him, it'd be nice if i could get subtitles that tell me what he said.

The minimal set-up for this device would be a sensitive microphone, embedded computer and on-glasses projector HUD. For more accuracy, i could get him to carry his own microphone, that would talk to mine via some radio thing.

It wouldn't need to be 100%. Generally, a couple of words per uttering is all i'd need. You could even use it to 'record' conversations and go back a few minutes to see what somebody is talking about.

You could, of course, use this in loud bars, or for talking to foreign people. You could also lock out people that you don't want to hear you. People who don't use glasses are left out, of course, but i don't think it hurts for us to have an advantage over them.

sadie, Oct 04 2002

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       How about if the quiet-speaker himself wore a pair of glasses that displayed the text coming from his mic and computer? That way us non spec-wearers could benefit, and it would be much cheaper.   

       Might need to be quite large bins - á la Elton John.
sild, Oct 04 2002
  

       Wish I had this for my so-called Insurance agent - sounds like Donald Duck underwater
thumbwax, Oct 04 2002
  

       If I was an awful lot cleverer and if this device was widely used I would devise a 'jammer' that would reformat the subtitles on nearby glasses. It would make the text really tiny.
Ludwig, Nov 27 2002
  
      
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