RNID teams up with Sonos to boost accessibility in home theatre sound systems
National hearing loss charity RNID has teamed up with Sonos, a sound experience company that creates innovative home theatre systems to improve the accessibility of TV and films for deaf people and people with hearing loss.
The collaboration has led to Sonos creating a new Speech Enhancement feature that provides four levels of control, empowering viewers to create a customised sound experience, especially for those with hearing loss.
Using AI, the technology aims to consistently and accurately detect dialogue whenever it occurs, and applies just the right amount of speech extraction to make conversations stand out against sound effects and ambient noise. It will be first available on Sonos’ Arc Ultra soundbar.
Dialogue in movies can be hard to understand and make the viewing experience difficult to follow, and while subtitles, volume control and Bluetooth headsets can help, Sonos wanted to help solve this problem and provide a better way to listen.
Sonos stated that it approached RNID as it wanted to work with its specialists in audio technology and assistive devices. RNID then reached out to members of its communities, who wanted to be involved in testing out their new software feature.
Sonos and RNID’s research panel spent almost a year researching the needs of people with hearing loss through multiple in-person workshops. These helped to clarify peoples’ preferences, without overwhelming them with choice.
An RNID spokesperson stated: “Designing products with the needs of people with hearing loss included from the start is a key factor in inclusivity, so it was exciting to work with Sonos on its upcoming speech enhancement feature – a brand new, AI-powered software tool that clarifies dialogue in movies and TV.
“This research helped Sonos approach the development in new ways. Our workshops also brought out some emotional responses from members of our research panel, including one participant, who said that using the new speech enhancement feature was like “being a child again and hearing all those noises that I’ve missed for years.””
