25/11/2009 by David Slade.

Graham Hicks tests a system that integrates a Braille computer and mobile phone

A new portable device for deaf-blind people allows them to have face-to-face conversations, make phone calls using a text relay service and communicate by SMS.

The DeafBlind Communicator (DBC) consists of a Braille note-taker linked by Bluetooth to a mobile phone.

The DBC is made by assistive technology firm HumanWare and was developed in partnership with the Washington State Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) as well as several deaf-blind individuals.

QWERTY keyboard

Using the device, a deaf-blind person can have real time conversations in pubs and shops, with sighted friends or when conducting confidential meetings - for example with a doctor or solicitor.
Alan Davis from DBC maker HumanWare says the device opens new doors

With the Braille note-taker - a device also made by HumanWare called the BrailleNote - the deaf-blind person types a message into the device which comes with either a standard Braille or QWERTY keyboard.

This is then delivered to the screen of the mobile handset - which has special software installed on it - and the person responding then types a message back using the handset’s QWERTY keyboard.

When the mobile phone is first handed to a new speaker, it uses a voice message to inform them that the person using the equipment is blind and unable to hear.

It then asks them to communicate by typing a message on the mobile’s keyboard.

Phone service

The DBC system sends messages to a mobile phone

Once the sighted person has pressed the return key, a message is sent to the BrailleNote, the deaf-blind person replies and so the exchange can continue.

The deaf-blind version of the BrailleNote has a landline connector built in which enables the user to dial up a text relay service - for example the BT-funded Typetalk service - to enable deaf-blind people to use the device to make and receive phone calls.

The DBC also gives deaf-blind people access to SMS text messaging - which has become one of the most commonly used forms of communication.

The deaf-blind person simply needs to purchase a SIM card from a mobile network operator in order to activate the service.

Web browser

The device also contains some more advanced applications which are ordinarily hidden from new users in order to reduce complication.

These include a word processor, a planner, an e-mail client, an internet browser and a digital book reader.

As and when the deaf-blind person feels ready to use them, they can be activated easily and quickly.

The DBC can also use instant messaging services like Google Talk.

“Imagine the freedom that comes from being able to communicate with nearly anyone, anywhere,” said HumanWare’s Jim Halliday.

A Braille computer relays messages to and from a phone

“The DBC finally gives this capability to people who are both deaf and blind.”

To see the DBC in action, the BBC met Graham Hicks at a city centre pub in Peterborough.

Mr Hicks is deaf-blind and has written an evaluation report on the device for HumanWare.

‘Liberating device’

He was able to go to the bar and order drinks from a member of staff who had never seen the DBC before as well as answering some questions from us.

The conversation took much longer than it would have between fully hearing and seeing people. However it proved to be an effective system by providing a link between two people that would otherwise be impossible.

“This gives us a great advantage that we have waited many years for”, said Mr Hicks.

Mr Hicks described the device as liberating, by giving a deaf-blind person the ability to act independently.

The DBC costs between £4,400 and £5,400 depending on the size of Braille display required.

Money to purchase the device could be obtained from the government’s Access to Work fund if the deafblind person is in work, and those in education could also get help with the cost.

From BBC web site

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25/11/2009 by David Slade.

Six channels run by universities are also involved in the initial launch

YouTube’s parent company Google has announced on its blog that automatic captions are to begin to roll out across the site.

The machine-generated captions will initially be generated in English. At first they will only be found on 13 channels.

These include National Geographic, Columbia, as well as most Google and YouTube channels.

The software engineer behind the technology, Ken Harrenstien, is deaf.

Currently YouTube offers a manual captioning service but video makers tend not to use it.

“The majority of user-generated video content online is still inaccessible to people like me,” Mr Harrenstien wrote in the Google blog.

His solution combines automatic speech recognition with the current caption system.

The translation is not always perfect (in a demonstration the phrase “sim card” becomes “salmon” in text), but Mr Harrenstien says that the technology “will continue to improve with time”.

Alternatively users can upload a transcript of their video and auto-timing algorithms will match the text to the words as they are spoken.

Vint Cerf, vice president at Google, is widely recognised as a founding father of the internet. He is also hard of hearing and has worn a hearing aid since the age of 13.

“One of the big challenges of the video medium is whether it can be made accessible to everyone,” he told news agency AFP.

Earlier in the week YouTube announced the launch of YouTube Direct, a feed of uploaded amateur videos of newsworthy events such as protests and extreme weather conditions.

It is aimed at the media industry, and editors who subscribe will be able to request the phone numbers of contributors. So far it has been trialled by a select group of radio stations, newspapers and websites in the US.

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