NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — LLVision has served as the industry partner on an international research project that received the AIS Impact Award 2025. The award, announced at the ICIS 2025 Conference in Nashville, recognizes the use of augmented reality technology to improve communication access for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
AIS Impact Award 2025
The project was developed in collaboration with academic teams from Erasmus University, Tsinghua University, and other international research institutions. Rather than focusing solely on laboratory studies, the work addressed everyday communication scenarios by combining academic research with applied engineering.
This emphasis on real-world application aligns with the criteria of the AIS Impact Award, which recognizes information systems research with demonstrated societal and business impact. The Awards Committee said the project stood out for bridging academic research and practical deployment, translating accessibility research into commercially available assistive technology.
Led by Professor Li Ting of Erasmus University, the research team conducted five years of empirical experiments and field studies. The findings showed that AR-based solutions improved communication efficiency by up to 40 percent, significantly outperforming conventional smartphone-based assistive tools. Researchers said displaying speech as visual text within the user’s field of view helps preserve conversational flow. According to the World Health Organization, more than 430 million people worldwide are deaf or hard of hearing.
UNESCO Netexplo Innovation Award (Top 10)
As part of the project, LLVision provided its AR subtitle glasses, first introduced as Leion Hey and later expanded with the second-generation Leion Hey2. Unlike smartphone-based speech-to-text applications, the glasses allow users to follow conversations without looking down at a screen, supporting more natural face-to-face interaction.
Commenting on the recognition, Dr. Wu Fei, founder and CEO of LLVision, said the award reflects growing recognition that assistive technologies must balance technical performance with human experience. He added that developers have a responsibility to ensure technology enhances dignity and inclusion rather than adding friction to everyday communication.
The technology also received international recognition in 2022, when the AR subtitle glasses category was honored with a UNESCO Netexplo Innovation Award (Top 10). LLVision said the solution is entering wider commercial deployment across workplaces, classrooms, and community settings. The company added that Leion Hey2 will be introduced to the U.S. market at CES 2026.
About LLVision
Founded in 2014, LLVision has spent more than a decade developing integrated AI and AR software-hardware solutions focused on real-world, multilingual communication. Its consumer AR translation glasses, Leion Hey2, support real-time translation across more than 100 languages, addressing the needs of international conferences, cross-border collaboration, and global travel.