Google LLC today released two new apps that tap into artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist those with hearing impediments.

The first app, Live Transcribe, transcribes speech to text live via the app installed on an Android phone. Tapping into Google’s existing automatic speech recognition technology, which enables computers to detect audible languages and transcribe them into text for reading, it combines the results of extensive user experience research with seamless and sustainable connectivity to speech processing servers.

On the technical side, the app relies on cloud ASR to provide greater accuracy combined with an on-device neural network-based speech detector. The combination can detect speech while also automatically managing network connections to the cloud ASR engine, minimizing data usage over long periods of use.

Google said the app overcomes what it describes as the cocktail-party problem, that is where a speaker in a noisy room is a challenge for computers. The app also includes a built-in indicator that visualizes the volume of user speech relative to background noise. In addition to offering instant feedback on how well the microphone is receiving incoming speech, it also allows the user to adjust the placement of the phone.

Live Transcribe has support for more than 70 languages covering in excess of 80 percent of the world’s population. A prerelease version of the app is available from the Google Play Store now.

The second app, Sound Amplifier, is pitched as offering an “audio boost from time to time, especially in situations where there’s a lot of background noise.” Sound Amplifier works by increasing quiet sounds while not over-boosting loud sounds via the app but only when wired headphones are plugged into an Android device.

Within the app, a number of sliders and toggles allow users to apply noise reduction to minimize distracting sounds so as to narrow in on the conversation or other audio source they’re trying to hear.

Sound Amplifier is available from the Google Play Store now but does require a minimum of Android 9 Pie to be running on the device. Both apps will also be available on Google Pixel 3 devices by default.

Photo: Google