Google Glass prepares you for public speech

New York: If you feel afraid of speaking in public, wear this "smart" glass that will give you real-time feedback on volume modulation and speaking rate, while being minimally distracting. Using the eye wearable device Google Glass, researchers from the human-computer interaction group at University of Rochester in New York have designed an intelligent user interface to build "smart glasses".

The system is called Rhema (Greek word for "utterance"). Google Glass with Rhema installed in it can record a speaker, transmit the audio to a server to automatically analyse the volume and speaking rate, and then present the data to the speaker in real time. According to Hoque, the practice has helped him become more aware of his volume even when he is not wearing the "smart" glasses while giving lectures.

The researchers also highlight that the users, overall, felt it helped them improve the speech delivery. "We wanted to check if the speaker looking at the feedback appearing on the glasses would be distracting to the audience," Hoque noted. However, there was no statistically significant difference among the three groups on eye contact, use of filler words, being distracted, and appearing stiff.