Aira vs SpeakIt

Aira is a service that helps visually impaired individuals to live independently. In doing so, we — through the latest, personalized assistive technology and approaches — serve as visual interpreters and navigators for blind and low-vision people. Here is a detailed description of how the Aira platform works: Smart glass technology: The blind user puts on a Smart glass that has a camera, network connectivity and a rich set of sensors, such as Google Glass and taps on a button. An “Uber” style routing will connect the user to an available trained Agent to help the user with his or her request. Aira Agents are certified and trained: Agents are specially selected and trained through a 4-step process (described below). Agents are either from the user’s friends and family circle, or from our Aira Agent Team. The user will always interact with Agents whom they feel comfortable with and have trained/worked with in the past. Agent selection and training is a four-step process: — -Agents are selected by a pre-screening process that is similar to tests of a 911 operator. — -Every Agent is trained by experienced Aira team members on the use of the Agent Dashboard and go through various emergency protocols. — -The Agent is also introduced to “Aira Phraseology,” which will help him or her deliver timely, clear and concise information while taking into consideration the user’s surroundings. — -In addition, Agents go through a certification process after undergoing a thorough background check and signing confidentiality agreements. The Agent has a sophisticated Agent Dashboard which has the following data feeds: — -The current view from the user’s Google Glass User’s current location. — -Current traffic conditions, points of interest, government warnings, etc. — -Personal data gathered from the users — such as medical history, emergency contacts, things that they enjoy doing, places they like visiting, and names and contact information of family members and personal assistants. — -Facial recognition that will enable the user to identify individuals around him or her. Agent-User interaction: Agents are first paired with users to get acquainted with users’ needs by working with them on simpler tasks under supervision. This provides an opportunity for both the Agent and blind user to get to know each other and develop a compatible relationship. Once the user builds trust and becomes comfortable with the guidance received, the Agent will transition to guiding them independently with their tasks. User safety is paramount: — -Our platform, electronic equipment, system protocols, Agent training and user acclimatization are designed to put user safety as our top priority. All the transactions via Aira platform are secured confidential. — -The system has automatic algorithms to assess potential dangers. For example, the system is constantly monitoring for sound, video input, and sensor feed. As new safety systems and wearable devices become available, Aira’s platform is built to incorporate them and remain at the leading edge of safety. — -Aira has mechanisms to handle contingent situations, such as device or technical failure. Agents will be able to make calls on behalf of the user, request taxi service from reliable service providers to take the blind user home safely, or follow a specific user’s contingency plan. — -Even when network coverage is lost, Aira continues to store the user’s location locally on the wearable device. Once the network connection is regained, their location history is updated on the server, enabling the Agent to pinpoint the user’s current location. — -Aira’s platform is also capable of solving latency issues (slow network) for when there is limited network bandwidth, such as in crowded or remote areas. Environmental adaptation: In order to provide precise and accurate guidance in a noisy area, the majority of communications between the Aira Agent and the user can be done via pre-set tones and clicks. Latency adaptation (aka Slow 4G LTE Network): The Aira team has worked diligently to reduce time effects due to network delays. New algorithms being developed will optimize the quality of video streaming and reduce network delay to 1–2 seconds (depending on network reception in the area). Extensibility: — -Aira will be able to leverage indoor locations, based on systems such as iBeacon and Google Indoor Maps in the future when the technologies mature. — -Aira was built using its API platform, which will be open to external developers, allowing them to expand it to most of the industry’s wearable technologies. This means Aira, as a system, can incorporate information from other wearables, cameras, proximity sensors, infrared canes and other sensors to provide a complete solution for users. — -Aira has access to next generation Artificial Intelligence algorithms and advanced object and pattern recognition technologies. Market research and experiments: — -Aira has conducted experiments at FFB Dining in the Dark 2014, Vision Walk 2014, LA Tech talk, CSUN 2015 and Braille Institute. — -There have been 50+ blind user experiments, 200 blind user in-depth interviews, and 5 sessions for Agents and training. — -There are 100+ beta users signed up for trials in summer 2015. — -There are 8 formal focus groups with Mobility and Orientation specialists, assistive tech experts, and rehab advisors.

Read too much? Choose the text you want to hear read, then do so. SpeakIt speaks text, saving you from having to read. SpeakIt! is a free text-to-speech extension that uses language auto-detection and TTS technology to read selected text. More than 50 different languages can be read by it. Usage: - Choose the text you want it to read first. - Then, to begin listening, click the symbol. - The symbol will display the number of sentences when it is ready to read. - Click pause at any point to halt the audio. NOTE: - After installation, Chrome may need to be restarted in order for SpeakIt to work properly. - The Google text-to-speech service is used by this plugin. Please check if it's accessible to you at http://goo.gl/OOVgp. ChangeLog: New in version 0.2.98: – Minor bug fixes - Update bug fixed NEW in release 0.2.4: - Changed from using Google Translate API, which has been deprecated, to using the Chrome lang detect API (SpeakIt now detects input language by language of entire page, not just chosen text:(: ( ) - Enhancements to SpeakIt! divides sentences, but it now pauses at the proper points and has considerably better pronunciation. - Added support for internationalization. SpeakIt! is currently available in 12 languages. - Fixed a few minor problems. New in version 0.2.3: - Added a fresh Chrome TTS API. - Offline (native) TTS support was added. - Added capability to configure other TTS engines and voices - Some bugs were fixed NEW in release 0.2.2: - Added support for keyboard shortcuts - Context menu support was added - New features added to the options page - Some bugs were fixed NEW in release 0.2.1: - The Speech to Text feature has been added and is available in the options. - Redesigned the user interface, switching to the Zen audio player, which I hope you like. - Many problems that caused the previous version of SpeakIt to end in the middle of reading have been fixed. - A new option was added. - Added button for contributions ( can be hidden from options menu ) You can get in touch with me on Twitter at @SkechBoy if you have any questions, concerns, or criticism. Please rate the addon if you enjoy it.