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Temple University’s theater program began offering smart caption glasses that display live captions during performances. The glasses show captions in the wearer’s line of sight using an augmented reality display, so that the audience can read dialogue without looking away from the stage.
Using this approach addresses what accessibility advocates call a "split-attention" problem. Traditional open-caption displays or separate caption boards require audience members to choose between watching the performance and reading captions positioned elsewhere. Glasses that place captions within the viewer’s field of view are intended to let patrons follow both at once. Temple is providing the glasses to patrons at no cost.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires venues open to the public, including performing arts centers, to provide auxiliary aids and services for effective communication. The article cites the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), noting that accessibility enforcement has traditionally focused on caption screens and ASL interpreters rather than personal wearable devices, which makes wearable captioning technology a relatively new development in live theater.
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