Transcription
Technology for Deaf PeopleRichard LadnerIntroduction to Deaf StudiesASL 305Spring, 2010
Outline Background and terminologyHearing technologyTextingVideo PhoneWebOther TechnologyResearchDeaf Technology2
Who Are Deaf People Born or became deaf before languagedevelopment.› 10% have deaf parents› 90% have hearing parents Became deaf after languagedevelopment. Became deaf in old age.Deaf Technology3
Models of Deafness Medical Model› Deaf people are patients who need treatment and/or cure. Special Education Model› Deaf youth need special education. Rehabilitation Model› Deaf people need assistive technology for employment andeveryday life. Legal Model› Deaf people are citizens who have rights and responsibilitieslike other citizens. Accessibility to voting, television, andtelephone are some of those rights. Social Model› Deaf people are part of the diversity of life, not necessarily inneed of treatment and cure. They do need access whenpossible.Deaf Technology4
Deaf or deaf deaf with lower case “d”› Severe hearing loss that may happen in aging› No sign language› Prefers to enhance hearing, if possible Deaf with upper case “D”› Member of the Deaf Community› Uses sign language socially and possibly at work› May use hearing aids or other devices to enhancehearing› Culturally DeafDeaf Technology5
Technology Prosthesis› Augmentation to restore lost function. Cure or partial cure.Examples: hearing aids, cochlear implants Assistive technology› Popular in rehabilitation literature. Emphasis on the need forassistance. Access technology› Allows an activity that would be difficult to impossible toachieve without it. Emphasis not on restoring function, buton achieving an end goal by whatever means possible.› Examples: text messaging, video phones, captionsDeaf Technology6
Hearing Technology Hearing Aids FM Systems Cochlear ImplantsDeaf Technology7
Latest Hearing Aid LyricDeaf Technology8
FM Systems Personal Public (Opera House, )Personal FM SystemDeaf Technology9
Cochlear Implant“Normal” earImplanted earDeaf Technology10
The Telephone The telephone was invented by A.G.Bell in his efforts to improve the lives ofdeaf people.A.G. Bell1880 His mother and wifewere deaf. His father was apioneer in speechtraining.Deaf Technology11
Alexander Graham Bell Bell was very influential on public policyabout deafness.› He was a strong advocate of oralism.› He advised the deaf not to marry eachother and have children to help eliminatedeafness.› His telephone was not used by the deafuntil the invention of the acoustic modemand TTY.Deaf Technology12
Texting TTYTTY Relay ServiceCaptioned TelephoneE-mailInstant MessagingCaptionsDeaf Technology13
TTY (Teletypewriter)TTY circa 1970Modern TTY withbuilt-in acoustic modemDeaf Technology14
TTY Relay ServiceDeaf Technology15
Captioned TelephoneDeaf Technology16
Robert H. Weitbrecht Deaf man who invented the acoustic modemin the 1960s so that he could use thetelephone through a TTY. Over 20 years the idea caught on so that by1980 the Deaf world was connected by TTYs. TTY relay services were created so that Deafpeople could communicate with hearing. TTY laws in almost every state require thetelephone company to provide a TTY to everydeaf customer.Deaf Technology17
History of the TTYAuthor: Harry LangDeaf Technology18
E-Mail / Instant MessagingSidekickDeaf Technology19
Closed CaptionsDeaf Technology20
Closed vs. Open Captions Closed Captions› Optional Open Captions› Always on the screen› Like subtitles for foreign language films Leader - WGBH Media Access GroupDeaf Technology21
Closed Captioning Line 21 of the vertical blanking interval of a TVband was basically unused before 1970. The National Bureau of Standards wasmandated to look for a way to provide closedcaptions using this band. In 1980 the first broadcasts of a regular serieswere captioned by ABC. Today all TVs must have a built-in captiondecoder. Today real-time and off-line captioning of mediais a large industry. Captioning of web video is a current problem.Deaf Technology22
YouTube Auto-Captioning Auto-captioning› Speech captions Auto-synchronization› Speech transcript captions› Much better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v kTvHIDKLFqcDeaf Technology23
CaptionfishDeafCode LLCDemoDeaf Technology24
Video Video PhoneVideo Relay Service (VRS)Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)MobileASL (UW Project)Deaf Technology25
Picturephone“Picturephone” demonstratedby AT&T at the 1964 World’sFair› Required too muchbandwidth for phonesystem› Deaf world excited thendisappointedDeaf Technology26
Video PhoneDeaf Technology27
More Video PhonesPurpleViableDeaf Technology28
Ubiquitous Video PhonesSkypeWindows Live Instant MessengerDeaf Technology29
Video Relay Service (VRS) SorensonDeaf Technology30
VRS VRS is a free service to deaf people inthe US.› Paid for by Universal Access Tax Major companies››››SorensonPurpleZVRSSnapDeaf Technology31
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)Deaf Technology32
MobileASL› ASL communication using video cell phones overcurrent U.S. cell phone networkChallenges:› Limited network bandwidth› Limited processing power on cell phonesDeaf Technology33
MobileASL Platform HTC TyN IICamera facingin the right directionDeaf Technology34
Modern Video Phone Sorenson was the pioneerMany other companies in the fieldRelay servicePoint-to-pointComputer based or TV with set top boxBroadband requiredFree for broadband deaf users in moststates.Deaf Technology35
The Web Vlogs (Video Web Logs) Social Networking ASL-STEM Forum (UW Project)Deaf Technology36
VlogsDeaf Technology37
Social NetworkingDeaf Technology38
Deaf Technology39
ASL–STEM ForumSocial Networking for a Purpose Enable ASL to grow into Science. Empower more deaf students to go intoadvanced science fields. Leverages the interest in the videoenabled web.Deaf Technology40
Deaf Technology41
SearchableIndexSign VideoRatingDiscussionDemoDeaf Technology42
Deaf-blind TechnologyTeleBraille (1984)TTY with Braille outputDeafBlind Communicator (2009) face-to-face TTY SMSDeaf Technology43
Other Technologies Doorbell lightPhone ringer lightFire alarm lightBaby monitor light or vibratorAlarm clock light or vibratorDeaf Technology44
Research Sign Language Recognition Sign Language Activity Recognition Signing AvatarsDeaf Technology45
Sign Language RecognitionThad StarnerGeorgia TechChristian VoglerGallaudetDeaf Technology46
Compression Features forActivity RecognitionType of macroblockDeaf TechnologyMotion vectors47
Signing AvatarsVcom3D DemoDeaf Technology48
Unsolved Research Problems Sign Language Recognition› From video or even more sensors Sign Language Translation› To or from sign language Useful Avatars› Not natural enough› Facial expressions poor› Motion capture not perfect Speaker independent speech recognition forautomatic captioningDeaf Technology49
Technology Classes Bottom-up technology - TTY, VRS› Start from a small base and build Top-down technology - CC› Government edict is necessary By-product technology - E-mail, SMS,IM› Existing technologies, if useful, will beadoptedDeaf Technology50
Deaf Technology51
HTC TyN II Camera facing in the right direction. Deaf Technology 35 Modern Video Phone Sorenson was the pioneer Many other companies in the field Relay service Point-to-point Computer based or TV with set top box Broadband required Free for broadband deaf users in most states. Deaf Technology 36
