TECH TALK: Now everyone can enjoy the theater

“Broadway is committed to providing the best theater experience possible for all viewers,” Schubert Foundation president Robert Wankel said.

By ARIEL SHAPIRA
Shekel money bills (photo credit: REUTERS)
Shekel money bills
(photo credit: REUTERS)
GalaPro has developed an application called GalaPrompter that provides accessibility services to theater goers with vision or hearing impairment and those who need translation. The company recently announced the launch of its new application, which offers a real-time translation of shows on Broadway, in cooperation with the Schubert organization. All of Schubert’s theaters in New York started to offer GalaPro’s new service this month.
“Broadway is committed to providing the best theater experience possible for all viewers,” Schubert Foundation president Robert Wankel said. “We are excited to work with GalaPro to develop this pioneering technology, which is a significant step forward in our efforts to make the theater accessible to the general public, including people from different places around the world and people with disabilities.”
GalaPro’s revolutionary application is based on voice-recognition technology that enables theaters to provide full accessibility and translation services for each performance with a written script, from every seat in the hall, and in real time. GalaPrompter, which is available for download on both Android and iOS, provides automatic captioning subtitles, voice descriptions and captioning or dubbing translations, with no limit to the number of languages supported. The app has been designed to enhance the experience of its users without detracting from the enjoyment of other viewers.
Schubert has provided the GalaPro team with a real platform for testing its technology, making sure that the solution meets the highest standards in the industry. In addition, the Schubert Accessibility Advisory Committee has guided and supported the GalaPro team throughout the development process. The initial pilot took place at the New World Stages’ Off Broadway Theater, in addition to four of the organization’s Broadway theaters.
GalaPro was established in June 2015 by Dr. Elena Litsyn and Hagai Pipko. Schubert is the largest owner and operator of theaters on Broadway, with 17 theaters on Broadway and six Off Broadway venues.
Since its founding in 1900, Schubert has been at the forefront of the American theater, producing alone and in partnership hundreds of Broadway shows and musicals that have been praised by critics.
Intel’s new chips Intel unveiled a new generation of Wi-Fi chips at the recent CES show in Las Vegas. The new 802.11ax chips, which are being developed in Israel, enable 40% faster surfing than the previous generation and will come into use this year.
“There’s a good reason we’re seeing so much enthusiasm in the industry about the new 802.11ax chips,” said Doron Tal, CEO of the wireless group at Intel’s smart-home group, which is responsible for its development.
“The new device will offer significant improvements over its predecessor, the 802.11ac,” he said. “It is expected to provide record speeds of up to 40% faster in data traffic to a single client device and to improve average power per user by at least four times in dense or congested environments, as well as streamline the network and extend the battery life of client devices.”
Intel is expected to expand its Wi-Fi product line with new 802.11ax chips to common 2X2 and 4X4 home routers, cable gateways, xDSL and fiber optics for consumers. The Wi-fi chips are being developed in Israel, in the wireless group, and Intel engineers are responsible for chips in the computers and in the routers.
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Translated by Hannah Hochner.