Mobile technology has experienced great advancement in recent years, incorporating innovative accessibility features that seek to improve the lives of people with disabilities. A clear example is the possibility of set your smartphone to alert you when relevant sounds occur in your environment, such as if the doorbell rings. Do you want to know how to make your phone alert you if the doorbell rings? Here you will find out.
Specifically, we will talk about applications focused on hearing accessibility, such as Google Instant Transcription for Android. We will also see other similar apps and their main features. The goal is that anyone, even those with hearing problems, can benefit from these interesting features that current mobile devices offer us.
Instant Transcription, what is it and what is it for?
Instant transcription is an Android accessibility feature which allows conversations to be transcribed in real time and generate notifications when important sounds are detected. Serves for:
- Help people with hearing problems to follow conversations by transcribing the audio into text in real time.
- Alert users about relevant sounds such as doorbells, alarms, babies crying, etc. through vibration or flash notifications when these sounds are detected.
- Save transcript history for 3 daysas to consult past conversations.
- Add custom words and proper names to improve accuracy.
- Switch between languages and dialects.
Set your Android to notify you of the doorbell
The Android Instant Transcription app offers tricks that allow you set your phone to alert you when your doorbell or other sounds ring important around you. Follow these simple steps to activate sound notifications:
Install the “Instant Transcription” app
First of all you have to install the Instant Transcription app on your Android mobile. You find it for free in the Play Store. This application is part of the Android accessibility tools.
Configure the application easily
Once installed, open the app and go to the settings gear in the lower left corner. Here you will find the option to activate sound notifications.
Let's go to options and select "Open Sound Notifications"
Within the settings, select the “Open Sound Notifications” option. This will activate the detection of important sounds by the app.
Tutorial to configure and detect sound
The application will guide you with a simple tutorial to test sound detection. For example, it will flash the flash light when it detects a loud sound. Through the history you will be able to access all the noise records that the app has captured in the process.
Now you know how to have your phone alert you if the doorbell rings. Just follow these steps so you don't miss any important sound notifications.
Mobile technology also helps people with hearing problems
Today's smartphones and tablets integrate very useful accessibility features for people with hearing disabilities.. An example is the Instant Transcription application for Android, with which conversations can be transcribed in real time so that the user can read what is being said.
This app also includes alerts for sounds such as doorbells or alarms, which notify the user through vibration or light flashes. This way, people with hearing impairments can find out when someone knocks on the door or an alarm sounds.
Other features include identification of who is speaking, keyword highlighting, options to adjust microphone sensitivity and hearing aid compatibility. All this makes it easier for deaf or hard of hearing users to take better advantage of these mobile devices that are so popular today.
Technology companies continue to innovate to make your products increasingly inclusive and accessible to everyone. The development of functions designed for disabled people improves the quality of life of many people.
Applications similar to “Instant Transcription”
Below, we share 4 apps that share some similar features with Instant Transcription.
visualfy
visualfy is a mobile application designed to improve accessibility for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It allows set up visual and sensory alerts for sounds in the environment such as alarms, doorbells or baby cries. The app is compatible with multiple devices and supports customizing notifications. It was developed with the deaf community in mind, with information adapted to sign language. This is an application very similar to Instant Transcription.
Ava
Ava is a mobile speech to text transcription application that offers users accurate live captions to improve accessibility and inclusivity. With its powerful AI technology, Ava can transcribe real-time conversations with a very low error rate. The app allows users to correct and customize vocabulary to improve accuracy. Another great feature is the ability to connect and invite other users to shared captioning sessions. Ava also has text-to-speech and transcript storage features. It has free and paid plans, as well as specific options for organizations.
Sound amplifier
Sound amplifier is an application for Android devices that Helps people with hearing problems to better hear their surroundings and multimedia content. It allows you to amplify, filter and reduce unwanted noise in real time using the phone's microphone and headphones. It has specific modes for noisy environments and conversations. Offers customizable settings by ear and content type. It supports gestures and an accessibility button to activate it quickly. Requires Android 8.1 or higher and connected headphones.
Listen at a distance
HearClear is an application for Android devices that works like hearing aid amplifying ambient sound captured by the phone's microphone. It is designed for people with mild or moderate hearing problems. Allows you to hear conversations and distant sounds more clearly by increasing the volume and reducing background noise. It is compatible with Bluetooth headphones to amplify distant audio sources. It has an equalizer and audio recorder. Can be used temporarily as a hearing aid or for remote listening to TV and environments. According to the description, it has been used by thousands of people with hearing disabilities.
Mobile technologies continue to evolve and offer more and better accessibility features, such as the possibility of configuring your Android phone to notify you if the doorbell rings. Applications like Instant Transcription open a world of possibilities so that people with hearing disabilities do not miss relevant sounds in their environment.