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Love Island star Tasha Ghouri burst into tears when she was given Xrai glasses to try on for the deaf with closed captioning.
The 24-year-old model and dancer was born “completely deaf” and had to “overcome many obstacles” as she grew up with a disability she now calls her “superpower.”
Her parents found out she was deaf when she was 12 months old and that she had a cochlear implant, an electronic device she put in when she was five, and she had had years of speech therapy.
‘Wish I had this growing up’: Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri burst into tears when she was given Xrai glasses for deaf people that show subtitles in real time
Drying her eyes: The model and dancer, 24, was born ‘completely deaf’ and had to ‘overcome many obstacles’ growing up with a disability she now calls her ‘superpower’
She tried on the glasses and said, “I don’t know why I’m crying. This is going to help so many people. I wish I had this when I was growing up, it would have helped me so much.”
Tasha said she struggles with her hearing even with her cochlear implant and that there are some programs she can’t watch because they don’t have closed captions.
But now with the glasses she can.
Tasha shared a video on Instagram saying, “So this is an emotional one.. @xraiglass is amazing to me and so many other people out there.
Finding her own way: Tasha’s parents found out she was deaf when she was 12 months old and that she had a cochlear implant, an electronic device she put in at the age of five
She said: ‘Even with my cochlear implant I still have a hard time in certain situations, for example in the cinema there is no subtitles, in group conversations with noisy backgrounds, with TV that has no subtitles, I can now use these glasses and not miss a thing ‘
‘Even with my cochlear implant I still have a hard time in certain situations, for example in the cinema there is no subtitles, in group conversations with noisy backgrounds, with TV that has no subtitles, I can now use these glasses and not miss a thing.
“The fact that the text is also in real time is just insane.”
She continued, “As you can see I got emotional because I wish I had XRAI Glass growing up it would have helped me a lot but I know this is going to change the lives of a lot of people who don’t even have access to a hearing aid or a cochlear implant – I’m really proud to be a part of this great company #xraiglass #lifesubtitled.’
The software behind the smart glasses, designed by British technology company Xrai Glass, is intended for the hearing impaired, but can also help others.
Groundbreaking: Tasha models the Xrai Glass eyewear
Wearers say “Hey, Xrai” for a summary of what was just said, with the glasses showing a text summary. The specifications can also translate other languages into English.
Xrai compared the glasses to Amazon’s voice-activated personal assistant, saying they were like “Alexa…but for your eyes.”
It predicted that they could one day be available as contact lenses.
The glasses, which weigh less than three grams and have dark lenses, are connected to the user’s smartphone and project images using small Sony TVs.
The experience would be the equivalent of watching a 205-inch IMAX cinema screen.
Xrai said wearers can see the person in front of them and subtitles of what they are saying in real time
Xrai said wearers can see the person in front of them and subtitles of what they are saying in real time.
Different people in a group conversation will appear in different colors so that the wearer can see who is speaking.
The software is now available through the Xrai app in Google Playstore. The basic version of the app costs nothing, but there are premium versions that cost up to £49.99 per month.
Love: Tasha is in a relationship with Andrew Le Page, whom she met on Love Island earlier this year
It’s currently only available to use on goggles made by Chinese firm Nreal, which cost £400. But the company hopes to run on other smart glasses in the future.
Xrai said the device will also allow users to ask questions, such as what’s the weather like, with the answers immediately appearing as captions.
The glasses can help vacationers who struggle to communicate abroad by translating nine languages, including Mandarin and Spanish.
New Collaborations: Tasha will be kept busy leading up to Chrismtas as she teams up with Ann Summers as their new brand ambassador, fronting their first Christmas collection of the year, describing it as a ‘pinch me moment’