Russian scientists help people with hearing disorders to learn and to work remotely

Full communication is a real happiness for a person, and for a person with hearing disorders, this is double happiness. The information vacuum, the inability to communicate with relatives, friends, study and work – this is an incomplete list of problems faced by people who have become "hostages of silence".

But the scientists of the Moscow Laboratory "Sensor-Tech" - a resident of Skolkovo Foundation, will help them to solve this problem, the correspondent of tvbrics.com reports with reference to the company's press service. The speech recognition device "Charlie" created by Russian developers is a gadget with artificial intelligence that translates speech into text and displays it on the screen of any device. The device received a special function of remote communication. This means that people with hearing disorders will be able to learn and work remotely thanks to the new development. For example, a teacher at an Institute can put Charlie next to him during a lecture, and students with hearing disorders, having connected to the program via a special link, will read the transcribed speech of the lecturer at home on the screen of a smart phone or computer in online mode.

In the same way, you can hold working meetings, conferences, any educational events or presentations. All you need is access to the Internet.

"Now, when many people switch to remote work and study, become self-isolated, it is extremely important to support people with disabilities. That's why we urgently made such a new feature for Charlie. I will use it myself in the very near future. All of my students in the Bauman Moscow State Technical University are transferred to remote learning; there are a lot of deaf students in inclusive groups. I hope that they will appreciate the new device", said Denis Kuleshov, Director of the laboratory "Sensor-Tech", a teacher at MSTU named after N.E. Bauman.

In addition to remote learning, Charlie has a normal operation mode – the device displays online the decoded speech, and deaf people can just read what they are told, without the help of third parties. The gadget is often installed at home to communicate with relatives. It can also be used in public places: banks, hospitals, railway stations, etc.

According to the representative of the company, Charlie has already been installed and actively operates in the Employment Center of the city of Moscow Moya Rabota. With its help, specialists of the Department for employment of disabled people communicate effectively with people who have hearing disorders, and help them find work.

Another Charlie is successfully used in the Perm MFC, where a pilot testing project has been launched. It is planned that after the tests, the device will be installed in special windows to serve people with disabilities.

The project was supported by So-Edinenie Charity Foundation for the support of deafblind persons, Neironet Industry Union and is being implemented within the framework of the roadmap of the National Technology initiative.


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