UMI – enable group meetings for the hard of hearing

In their presentation, designers Dhvani Suba and Ilona Guiraud will guide us through their development of their award-winning project „UMI – enable group meetings for the hard of hearing”.

About the Project: UMI

Winner of the "UX Design Award | New Talent" 2021

UMI is an ecosystem with the aim of making group conversations more accessible for people with hearing loss and thus enabling them to participate more, especially in their work environment. The physical component of the system "Cara" indicates the location of the sound with the help of light. Connected to the app, it adds subtitles and creates a summary for the whole team at the end of a meeting. The second component, "Caro", is a compact, customizable pod that users can carry with them to receive sound location, subtitles, alerts and emergency messages.

UXDA jury member Markus Turber on the project:

»UMI allows deaf and hard-of-hearing people to take part in group meetings in a natural and simple way. The integration of sensor technology, optical signals, and speech-to-text makes everyday life much easier for hard-of-hearing people and for their environment. The jury recognizes this much-needed product as a wonderful contribution to integration and participation.«

About the Format:

Talent Track: Award Winners presents outstanding projects from the New Talent award category. The format, live interactive presentations followed by a Q&A session, offers a behind-the-scenes look at award-winning projects and shines a spotlight on some of the most promising “young guns” in experience design.