Free app translates speech into text in real time for remote, deaf users

I Can't Hear enables speaking users to 'talk' to friends who have hearing difficulties, using iOS's speech-to-text capabilities.

We have already seen numerous smartphone-based platforms designed to help people with hearing difficulties communicate more easily with those that can hear. Looking to work the other way, we’ve now come across I Can’t Hear — a simple app that enables speaking users to ‘talk’ to friends, colleagues or family members who have hearing difficulties. More specifically, I Can’t Hear utilizes iOS’s speech-to-text capabilities to convert the speaker’s words into text instantly.

I Can’t Hear is a free app developed by Etienne Adriaenssen, originally conceived to help him communicate with an aunt who lost her hearing in Antwerp during WW2. To function, the app requires two devices — this can be a computer, smartphone, smartTV or tablet — and both devices must be connected to the internet. The user with a message to relay simply runs the app and speaks into their device. I Can’t Hear converts the words into text instantly and streams it to a unique URL. The other user can then access the message on their own device, remotely. Text clears automatically after a two second pause creating a conversational effect. Users can make the font size extra large if they need to.

I Can’t Hear is available to download now from the app store. How else could inbuilt capabilities be adjusted for use by those with disabilities?