RNID’s Technology Lead, Alastair Moore, shares how RNID has been working with UK government and technology leaders to share the benefits of Auracast for people who are deaf or have hearing loss.
On 25 June 2024, the government’s National Technology Advisor, Dr Dave Smith, and RNID held a roundtable to discuss a new technology that promises to transform the lives of people who are deaf or have hearing loss.
What is Auracast?
Auracast makes it easy to send high quality audio wirelessly to any brand of hearing device, such as headphones, earbuds, hearing aids, and cochlear implants. It’s part of the latest Bluetooth standard and is already supported by several smartphones, earbuds, and televisions. Soon, everyone will be using Auracast to listen in all kinds of situations.
How does Auracast help deaf people and people with hearing loss?
The most exciting application of Auracast for RNID is in assistive listening, where hearing devices can pick up audio from public address systems. This will be especially useful in situations where hearing loops are not appropriate. This is vital because it allows deaf people and people with hearing loss access to the same public information at the same time as others.
For Auracast to deliver on its potential, it needs to be installed across national infrastructure, such as transport, education, and healthcare. That’s why RNID is working with government at the highest levels to raise awareness of Auracast and discuss the challenges and opportunities of making it available to all.
Read more about Auracast and how it works.
RNID’s meeting with government
RNID co-hosted a roundtable with Dave Smith, the government’s National Technology Adviser, at the Digital Catapult in London.
Attendees included senior representatives (for example, Chief Scientific Advisors) from the Department for Transport, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Ministry of Justice. Industry was represented by Samsung, Ampetronic, and GN Resound, who are amongst the first to announce Auracast-enabled products.
The session included the lived experiences of deaf people and people with hearing loss. There was also an explanation of the technology, hands-on demos, and a discussion of how Auracast could help their departments make life inclusive for people with hearing loss and the general population.
Dave Smith, the government’s National Technology Adviser, said:
“Auracast technology is likely to be transformative for so many who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.
“I was very pleased to co-host a roundtable with the RNID involving colleagues from across Government, to explore potential new use cases for the technology and to try to identify where the evidence base suggests that Government adoption could have a truly positive impact for accessibility.”
Harriet Oppenheimer, Chief Executive of RNID, said:
“We know the lack of audio accessibility is a big barrier in daily life for the 18 million people in the UK who are deaf or have hearing loss. Auracast has huge potential to address this and transform everyday lives.
“RNID really wants to champion inclusive technology and I’m very grateful to Dave Smith for stimulating such an important discussion amongst government, technology leaders and people with lived experience. We’re excited to be working together.”
What’s next?
RNID will continue working with government and Bluetooth to ensure the new technology is easy to use, safe and that the rollout is as smooth as possible.
