We've already seen camera-equipped glasses that tell blind wearers what they're looking at. Well, Voicee is a bit different, in that it's a microphone-equipped set of glasses which display the text of what other people are saying.
Currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign, the Slovenian-designed glasses are claimed to presently be in functioning prototype form.
Along with the noise-cancelling mic in front, they also incorporate a Google Glass-like projected display on the inside of one lens, an Android-based microprocessor, a touchpad for controlling their functions, and of course a lithium-polymer battery. They come with clear lenses by default, although they can be fitted with prescription lenses.
According to the designers, the Voicee technology is capable of picking up the speech of another person who is conversing with the wearer, and displaying their words as near-real-time text captions within the glasses.
The eyewear works without any other supporting devices, can be set to one of five languages (so far), and is said to tip the scales at less than 100 grams (3.5 oz). One charge of the battery should reportedly be good for over 24 hours of use.
Not surprisingly, the Voicee company isn't the first to have announced such a product.
Others have included the add-on LTCCS augmented reality display, which failed to meet its crowdfunding goal; TranscribeGlass, which is presently in development; and an app that was offered by Google Glass, although it required the speaker to be talking into a paired Android smartphone.
