Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Google Glass app can help socially awkward penguins speak in public




Fear of public speaking is quite common, and chances are you either know someone who has it or you suffer from the phobia yourself. This smart glass app called Rhema, created by researchers from the Human-Computer Interaction Group at the University of Rochester, was designed for people who need a bit of help addressing crowds. Rhema can listen as you speak, upload your recorded voice to a server, analyze its pace and volume, and then give you feedback in real time. To test it out, the team had 30 subjects try out several different feedback systems installed on Google Glass. These include ones that shows a traffic lights-like scheme and another that uses graphs.


By the end of the testing period, they determined that the most effective way to get the message across is to display words on screen. For instance, it can show "Louder" if you're speaking too softly or "Faster" if you're too slow. The team even believes that live feedback could also benefit sales people or those who find it tough to socialize in daily life, like those with Asperger's or autism. You can get Rhema for free from its official project page, though don't forget that it can't help you out if you don't have Google Glass.





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