Above: A mock-up demonstrates Boeing’s developmental speech-to-text transcription concept. (© Boeing photo)

When people board an airplane, they enter an environment where the passenger experience has been carefully engineered. But for millions of travelers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH), one vital part of that experience — spoken communication — is missing. Meal service options, turbulence notices, gate changes — all are moments when hearing passengers are informed, and others are isolated.

What’s happening: Boeing has demonstrated a speech-to-text transcription (STT) concept that displays captions of cabin announcements in nearly real time.

• Driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and designed to function offline, the developing technology could bridge a long-standing accessibility gap and make air travel more inclusive.

Why it matters: “With each accessibility advancement, our global team is building toward a more inclusive travel experience for everyone,” said Boeing engineer Ashley Badger.

What they're saying: “The real problem wasn’t technology,” said Bill Harkness, Boeing accessibility engineering leader. “It was access. It was dignity.”

Harkness, who is Deaf, has long advocated for better communication tools for passengers who, like him, rely on visual information. 

“This was our chance to change that,” he said. “To build a system that doesn’t assume one way of listening fits all.”

Above the noise: The STT concept emerged as Boeing engineers and research scientists began to collaborate.

Jinri Kim, a machine learning researcher at the Boeing Korea Engineering & Technology Center (BKETC), recalls how a simple idea gained momentum. 

“Developing the prototype, we had to select a model that could understand context — what’s a crew announcement and what isn’t,” Kim said.

• Aircraft cabins present serious technical challenges, including persistent engine noise, overlapping audio sources and limited Wi-Fi connectivity. 
• To meet those constraints, the BKETC AI team evaluated multiple open-source architectures and adapted a model to work in noisy, offline conditions. 
• The system processes incoming audio in two-second chunks, allowing near-real-time captions to appear on local devices or embedded displays.

Boeing engineers, from left, Hazel Nam, Jinri Kim and Jihyun Kim, check the STT prototype in a test environment. © Boeing photo

“We selected models that could handle noisy input,” explained Jihyun Kim, a BKETC data scientist. “You can’t assume a clean signal on board.” 

• As the teams developed the prototype, the project followed a human-in-the-loop approach — anchored not just in machine learning, but in human insight and accountability. 

Bottom line: The STT concept is being developed hand in hand with Deaf engineers and community members — not just for them. 

While the system was initially developed with DHH passengers in mind, the benefits may extend to all travelers — including anyone who has struggled to hear announcements over engine noise or during busy service times. 

It’s a reminder of a key principle in inclusive design: Accessibility helps everyone.

Go deeper: Learn more inside Innovation Quarterly.