15-YO Delhi boy builds Hear Bright to develop smart glasses that convert speeches into captions for deaf people
Paras Tickoo, a 15-year-old student from Delhi, is developing Hear Bright, AI-powered smart glasses designed to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people communicate more easily. Inspired by the challenges faced by his deaf neighbour, he created a wearable device that displays live captions of conversations and converts Indian Sign Language gestures into spoken words.
Paras began learning coding in 2020 after participating in a school app-development competition. Between 2021 and 2024, he explored Python, Java, HTML and basic IoT projects. He started developing the Hear Bright concept in November 2024 and began working on the software in January 2025, completing it in around five months.
The first functional wired prototype was completed in October 2025 after several hardware challenges, including blurry display output and a damaged motherboard. Paras invested approximately ₹70,000 from his prize money to build it. The glasses connect to smartphones, laptops and other devices through a USB Type-C cable, while the connected device handles the software processing.
The glasses use a microphone to convert speech into live captions displayed in front of the user's eyes. Their computer vision and machine-learning system also recognises Indian Sign Language gestures and converts them into speech through a speaker, with a response time of around 0.5–1 second. The system supports eight Indian languages, including English, and includes features such as brightness adjustment, proximity sensing and adjustable lens opacity.
Paras is currently developing a wireless version, which is around 25% complete. He expects to finish it by the end of 2027 and launch the product in early 2028. Although development has slowed while he prepares for his Class 10 board examinations, his goal is to deliver a lightweight, practical and user-friendly product.
Paras Tickoo, a 15-year-old student from Delhi, is developing Hear Bright, AI-powered smart glasses designed to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people communicate more easily. Inspired by the challenges faced by his deaf neighbour, he created a wearable device that displays live captions of conversations and converts Indian Sign Language gestures into spoken words.
Paras began learning coding in 2020 after participating in a school app-development competition. Between 2021 and 2024, he explored Python, Java, HTML and basic IoT projects. He started developing the Hear Bright concept in November 2024 and began working on the software in January 2025, completing it in around five months.
The first functional wired prototype was completed in October 2025 after several hardware challenges, including blurry display output and a damaged motherboard. Paras invested approximately ₹70,000 from his prize money to build it. The glasses connect to smartphones, laptops and other devices through a USB Type-C cable, while the connected device handles the software processing.
The glasses use a microphone to convert speech into live captions displayed in front of the user's eyes. Their computer vision and machine-learning system also recognises Indian Sign Language gestures and converts them into speech through a speaker, with a response time of around 0.5–1 second. The system supports eight Indian languages, including English, and includes features such as brightness adjustment, proximity sensing and adjustable lens opacity.
Paras is currently developing a wireless version, which is around 25% complete. He expects to finish it by the end of 2027 and launch the product in early 2028. Although development has slowed while he prepares for his Class 10 board examinations, his goal is to deliver a lightweight, practical and user-friendly product.
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