Forbes: Changing Technologies For The Deaf

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Forbes: Changing Technologies For The Deaf

Deaf News: Forbes.com - 4 Game-Changing Technologies For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are more than 360 million people worldwide with a disabling hearing loss, including 32 million children and one-third of people over 65 years of age. Hearing loss may result from genetic causes, complications at birth, certain infectious diseases, chronic ear infections, the use of particular drugs, exposure to excessive noise and aging.



One of the main impacts of hearing loss is on the individual’s ability to communicate with others, since spoken language development is often delayed in children with deafness. Limited access to services and exclusion from communication can have a significant impact on everyday life, causing feelings of loneliness, isolation and frustration, particularly among older people with hearing loss.



Recent advances in technology have the potential to improve the quality of life for those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Here’s a look at four products in this space that caught our attention.



MotionSavvy UNI: MotionSavvy, founded by a team of students from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf, announced “the world’s first two-way communication software for the Deaf.” UNI translates American Sign Language (ASL) into speech, and speech into text. It utilizes a special camera to track the location of both hands and all ten fingers. Graphic representations of the hands provide live feedback to make sure gestures are being captured correctly. The software’s dictionary can be expanded with customized signs added by the user. There’s also an option to upload those signs to the Internet, to share with others. The more an individual uses the system, the more accurate and tailored it becomes. To facilitate the Hearing-to-Deaf half of the communication, the package also includes Dragon Nuance Pro, one of the leading pieces of voice recognition software. Interested customers will have to wait for MotionSavvy UNI, but not long.



The company is planning to release it in September 2015. The video below gives a high level overview of the concept... Read Full Story with Videos: forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2015/04/21/4-game-changing-technologies-for-the-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing/



Related Post:

New Technology of Communication for the Deaf

Future Of Electronic Devices For The Deaf

Glide - Video Messaging In The Deaf Community

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Glide - Video Messaging In The Deaf Community

VIDEO [CC/Signed] - #YourGlideStory: Next generation video messaging in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.



#YourGlideStory - Over the past few months, you've let us know that Glide is the best way to communicate visually, and we're extremely grateful to all of our users in the Deaf/HoH community for their continued support.



Glide is a video messenger that allows you to send and receive video messages that can be seen live (as you're recording) or later (like a text message).

There are already loads of great video chat apps out there. We're not trying to replace them, we are giving people a more convenient way to keep in touch through video that doesn't need scheduling. Traditional video chat requires you and your friends to be online at the same time, which isn't always possible. The great thing about Glide is that you can send or watch a message whenever you want, regardless of whether your friends are online.



Glide is a private messaging service. Only friends in the chat you send a message to will see it. You and your friends can also share messages from Glide to social networks and friends outside the app. Sending messages to Glide users anywhere in the world is 100% free.



Keep up with us:

Download Glide - https://goo.gl/niox9g

Facebook - https://facebook.com/glideme

TwitterApp - https://twitter.com/glideapp

Twitter - https://twitter.com/sarahglide

Instagram - https://instagram.com/sarahglide

Official site - http://glide.me/



Big thanks to all of the #DeafTalent!



Credits:

Producer & Director

Jules Dameron (Deaf)



Interviewees: (all Deaf)



Gabriel Silva

Jules Dameron

Dickie Hearts

Rosa Lee Timm

Odunayo Akintomide



Director of Photography

Jules Dameron (Deaf)



Head of Communications & Interpreter Coordinator

Martha Villar



Interviewer

Kailyn Aaron-Lozano (Deaf)



Sound Recorder & Mixer

Leonardo Nasca



Makeup Artist

Kaila Borne



Anthony King

First Assistant Camera



Key Grips

Arleta Meeker (Deaf)

Quinn Cooke (Deaf)



Editor

Sarah Snow

Jules Dameron



Craft & Catering Services

Matt Reinig (Deaf)



Thanks to CSUN Volunteer Interpreting Services.

Sign Language Telephone - Documentary Film

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Sign Language Telephone - Documentary Film

VIDEO [CC] - 1979 Bell Labs project for the Deaf to communicate over telephone lines using American Sign Language.



This 1979 film examines a Bell Laboratory research project conducted by Kenneth Knowlton and Vivien Tartter. The team devised a way of using 27 points of light placed on an individual’s hands and face to allow the hearing impaired to use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate remotely. The goal was to find a way to take images of the points of light at each end of a conversation so the images “could be coded to the capacity of one telephone line.” Thus ASL, the primary language for most Deaf people, could be used to conduct conversations over standard telephone lines, without requiring any greater capacity than a regular phone call.

Turn On "CC"

Knowlton was a prominent figure at Bell Labs for many years and is well represented in other videos on the AT&T Archive Channel. At the time this film was made Tartter was a linguist at Rutgers University and continues today as a professor at City College in New York.



In 1981, two years after this video, Tartter and Knowlton published a paper in the scientific journal Nature detailing their work and findings at Bell Labs. The article, “Perception of Sign-Language from an Array of 27 Moving Spots.” details the methods and results of the project, including a transcript of a sign language conversation conducted via television using their method. The paper concludes that the “demonstration suggests the possibility of developing a sign language telephone.” A New York Times article about the published piece soon followed and the subject drew attention in newspapers across the country.



While the system the team conceived was never developed into a final, usable technology, it is a fascinating step in the long procession of efforts to find ways for the Deaf to use the telephone for communicating, as in 2009 when AT&T received the TDI James C. Masters Promotion Award “for providing innovative products and services that address the needs of people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.“

SOURCE

Convo Lights App Connected Philips Hue

Monday, November 3, 2014

Convo Lights App Connected Philips Hue

VIDEO [CC] - Philips Innovation Experience - Convo Lights app empowers Deaf community through Philips Hue.

The Convo Lights app developed for Philips Hue, the connected lighting system for homes, uses light to notify Deaf and Hard of Hearing people of phone calls and other audible signals that they could normally miss. The app from Convo, a Deaf-Owned and operated company providing video phone and translation services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, allows users to create personalized ringtones of light to identify incoming callers, and adjust the brightness in a room to make sign language easier to see onscreen.



Convo demonstrates its innovative app (Convo Lights) that uses the connected lighting technology of Philips Hue to transform the lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. Featuring Wayne Betts Jr. One of the founders for Convo Communications. Direct all creative aspects of the company’s communications: videos, the website, tradeshow materials, marketing collaterals, et cetera. Manage branding and the life cycle of all marketing campaigns. Serve as the face of the company in corporate and informational videos.

Want Convo Lights to illuminate your home? Order Convo Philips Hue Lights starter kit via Amazon or Apple today!



Find out more:

Convo Hue app press release - http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/standard/news/press/2014/20140929-Deaf-community-empowered-through-connected-home-lighting-from-Philips-Hue.wpd



Philips Innovation Experience press release - http://www.newscenter.philips.com/main/standard/news/press/2014/20140930-philips-showcases-its-commitment-to-creating-a-better-future-at-the-innovation-experience.wpd#.VCvkT_mSzs6

New Technology of Communication for the Deaf

Friday, October 24, 2014

New Technology of Communication for the Deaf

VIDEO: [CC] - No more depend interpreters in the future ? MotionSavvy introduces Uni - a two way communication tool for the Deaf and Hearing.



With recent advancements in gesture recognition technology, it is now possible to provide the millions of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people worldwide with a affordable tool to communicate with their peers.



UNI uses advanced gesture recognition technology called Leap Motion, this allows users to see how their signs appear on camera, which helps to make sure signs are input correctly and avoid missing important information.



What UNI does for you ? First of its kind device translates sign language into audio and spoken word to text, finally empowering the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to lead full lives and boundless careers. More details at www.motionsavvy.com

Sign To Speech - Powered by motion gesture recognition technologies, UNI translates signs into audible speech for hearing individuals.



Speech to Text - Using voice recognition technology, UNI identifies audible speech and converts it to text for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals.



Leap Motion V2 Tracking Developer Beta - Demo

Developer beta of Leap Motion's V2 tracking. Learn more at https://developer.leapmotion.com



More details at www.motionsavvy.com

Cool Stuff For Blind, Deaf, & Non-Verbal People

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Cool Stuff For Blind, Deaf, & Non-Verbal People

VIDEO [CC] - Cool Stuff For Blind, Deaf, or Non-Verbal People.



Tommy Edison, who has been blind since birth, demonstrates unique products that help people with disabilities.



Filmed at the Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference in San Diego, California. Directed/Edited by Ben Churchill - http://youtube.com/RadioTripPictures

Exhibitors Featured In This Video:



Harpo

http://harpo.com.pl

Caption Call

http://captioncall.com

AbleNet

http://ablenetinc.com



Follow Tommy Edison

http://facebook.com/tommyedison

http://twitter.com/blindfilmcritic

http://instagram.com/blindfilmcritic

http://blindfilmcritic.tumblr.com

http://tommyedison.com



Follow Ben Churchill

http://facebook.com/benjchurchill

http://twitter.com/benjchurchill

http://instagram.com/benjchurchill

http://youtube.com/RadioTripPictures

http://benchurchill.com

Orangutan Asks Deaf Girl For Help On Skype

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Orangutan Asks Deaf Girl For Help On Skype

VIDEO [ASL/CC] - Orangutan uses sign language to ask for help from Deaf girl.



The video goes viral by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), and is intended to raise awareness of how the palm oil industry is destroying orangutans' natural habitats and driving the species to extinction.



The video shows a 12-year-old Deaf girl named Lena chitchatting with an orangutan named Strawberry via Skype. One thing leads to another, and Strawberry learns that Lena likes to eat peanut butter.



“Your food is destroying my home,” the orangutan tells the girl at this point.



Apparently, most of the palm oil used to make snacks and treats marketed in the US comes from plantations that used to be rainforests, but that have been converted into agricultural lands in order to support this industry.

“While some companies are beginning to take steps to address their oil palms problem, none have yet adopted and fully implemented adequate safeguards to eliminate conflict palm oil from entering their supply chains and contaminating their products,” RAN explains on the official website for this campaign. ... Read more: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Watch-Orangutan-Uses-Sign-Language-to-Ask-for-Help-from-Deaf-Girl-391392.shtml

Microsoft's Kinect Turns Sign Language Translator

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Microsoft's Kinect Turns Sign Language Translator

VIDEO [CC] - Microsoft uses Kinect to interpret sign language. Should the team's efforts reach commercialization, it could have a big effect on the world's Deaf population.



PCWorld - Microsoft’s Kinect technology, already adept at reading hand and body movements, is incorporating sign language into its motion-sensing vocabulary as part of a new research project meant to help the Deaf.



Developers at Microsoft Research have been using the Xbox 360 gaming peripheral to read sign language from Deaf users, and translate it into spoken text. On Wednesday, they showed off some of the results. “Thanks Microsoft for turning my dream into a reality,” gestured Yin Dandan, a deaf student, who demonstrated the Kinect translator.



The technology can not only turn sign language into words spoken by a computer, but also do the reverse. A non-Deaf user can speak or type words into the Kinect translator. The system will then motion the words in sign language using a virtual avatar shown on a display.

Microsoft Research demonstrated the technology as it celebrated the 15th year of its Asia division. language translation has been among one of its focuses and already researchers there have developed software that can artificially replicate a person’s voice, and have it speak other languages, including Chinese.



At the same time, the company has been promoting the use of Kinect among software developers in China, said Wu Guobin, a Microsoft Research program manager. The gadget has proven to be an ideal motion-sensing device for the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which has long been researching sign language recognition technology. ... Read more: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2059880/microsoft-uses-kinect-to-interpret-sign-language-from-deaf-people.html

Future Of Electronic Devices For The Deaf

Friday, July 5, 2013

Future Of Electronic Devices For The Deaf

VIDEO: Expected in future of technology devices for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals have various abilities to communicate, relate to, and access their world.



We see a world where communication is open and transparent. A world where every Deaf person can interact freely with others. It's not simply a far-fetched dream, it's our vision for the future.



The technology devices can support, change or modify an individual's ability to succeed at tasks that they otherwise may not be able to accomplish.

Share our Vision, Make it a Reality.

It's why Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc. (CSD) exists, and why we come to work every single day. CSD has always belonged to the community, and this vision belongs to you.



For more, visit www.c-s-d.org/innovations and share our vision.



Educational Technology Access:

Gallaudet Technology Services (GTS) www.gallaudet.edu/gts.html

The Technology Access Program (TAP) tap.gallaudet.edu

The Information Technology (IT) www.gallaudet.edu/information_technology.html

The NTID Center on Access Technology (CAT) www.ntid.rit.edu/cat

Technology & Information Services (TIS) www.ntid.rit.edu/tis

Deaf Moviegoers See Potential In Glasses With Captioning

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Deaf Moviegoers See Potential In Glasses With Captioning

VIDEO [CC] - FOX40 SACRAMENTO - Many people go to the movies for the special effects and dialogue. But what if you were Deaf.



Regal Entertainment Group has introduced glasses developed by Sony for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired with closed captioning at the bottom that sync to the sound of the movie you’re watching.



Lois Diamond and Linda Cook are two of 38 million Deaf or hearing impaired Americans. Lois likes the glasses, she says any new technology is wonderful.

Regal theaters purchased them for about six thousand theaters nationwide, including Sacramento. Lois said before visual aids like it, she wouldn’t go to the movies much.



Regal invested more than $10 million dollars into the glasses. Each one is about $1,750. They’re free for customers though. Lois thinks Regal’s glasses are a step forward, but not perfect.



She says she noticed the captions appeared at the top of the screens, and didn’t like that. ...READ MORE: http://fox40.com/2013/05/10/deaf-moviegoers-see-potential-in-glasses-with-captioning/



Related Post: Sony New Subtitle Glasses For Deaf Moviegoers

Google Translate Helps Connect With Deaf People

Monday, April 8, 2013

Google Translate Helps Connect With Deaf People

Google Translate helps family connect with Deaf, adopted daughter.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ca. - You might use Google Translate to read a hard-to-find Manga comic book or to decipher an obscure recipe for authentic Polish blintzes. Or, like Phillip and Niki Smith in rural Mississippi, you could use it to rescue a Chinese orphan and fall in love at the same time.



Google is now doing a record billion translations on any given day, as much text as you'd find in 1 million books for everything from understanding school lunch menus to gathering national security intelligence. It translates in 65 languages, from Afrikaans to Yiddish, and can be used on websites, with speech recognition and as an app on mobile phones even if there is no connection.



While the technology is exponentially evolving, Google's translation guru Franz Och's face lit up when he heard that the Smiths and their new daughter, 14-year-old Guan Ya, are settling into their new lives together this month communicating almost exclusively through Google Translate.



"All day long I look at algorithms, algorithms and algorithms," he said. "It is so rewarding to hear that it is touching lives."



In the Smiths' case, it changed theirs forever.



The Smiths, who already have three children, first spotted Guan Ya less than a year ago when Niki Smith was looking at photos of hard to place orphans online, offering simple prayers for them one by one. With three children of her own, including a 3-year-old daughter adopted from China, she had no intention of adding to her family. ...READ MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/google-translate_n_3029486.html

Do We Need Specialized Hardware For The Deaf ?

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Do We Need Specialized Hardware For The Deaf ?

VIDEO: Do we need specialized hardware for the Deaf? Companies that once made specialized hardware may soon be relegated to software and services.



A company called Purple Communications this week unveiled a product called SmartVP. It’s a videophone with applications and features to help Deaf people communicate. Purple says it’s the first videophone to feature “true HD quality.”



How do Deaf people use the telephone? In the past, most used a typing system called TTY. Paging devices soon followed; the term became so fixed that the Deaf community is said to still call all wireless devices, including iPhones, “pagers.”

But the age of the video call has changed all that. Now, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing routinely communicate by simply using sign language over a video call. When a Deaf person wants to communicate with a hearing person, there are “relay services,” involving live translators proficient in sign language.



One smart thing Purple’s doing is pursuing what they call a “five-screen strategy.” What this means is that their customers can use Purple’s relay service on PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or TV. Here’s a YouTube video pitching SmartVP. Refreshingly, it’s not full of over-the-top music, like the majority of tech promotional fare out there. ...READ MORE: http://www.technologyreview.com/view/513336/do-we-need-specialized-hardware-for-the-deaf/



Sign up for more information: http://www.purple.us/SmartVP. Are you ready for a smarter way to make calls? Make the Smart Choice. SmartVP.

Technology Helps Deaf Students At Gallaudet

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Technology Helps Deaf Students At Gallaudet

Technology Helps Deaf Students at Gallaudet University.



Gallaudet University in Washington is the world's only university with programs designed for Deaf students and those who are hard-of-hearing. But hearing disorders do not keep students from learning because of the university's heavy use of technology.



Students use interactive technologies in and out of the classroom, technologies such as webcam interactions on Skype. More than 90 percent of Gallaudet's classes use some form of online communication. Professor Gene Mirus says technology is important in the learning process. "So there are, you know, televisions and webcams and things like that. Students are able to record themselves doing projects in sign language, and do that at home. We use a lot of computer technologies, and webcams and things like that."



Sonam Jain, a student from Sri Lanka, says his years at Gallaudet have offered experiences different from his childhood. "Sri Lanka has states. And they don't have one standardized sign language. So, in the United States, for example, there are signs for almost everything that you would ever want to talk about.



In Sri Lanka, there isn't. And so there are many things you find it very difficult to talk about in Sri Lanka." Another student says Gallaudet has helped him with his communication skills, especially with ASL - American Sign Language.



"When I grew up, I was signing in a way that was more English-like. Here at Gallaudet, I sign more like I sign in ASL - more visual and the communication is much easier, and the social life is wonderful here." That increased ability to communicate helps many students. "A lot of networking and reaching out to people and I've learned from - I've had role models that I've learned from here.



They provide workshops, there are a lot of sporting activities, intramural events that I've been involved with." "Most students increase their self-confidence, and improve their communication abilities and they leave Gallaudet ready to face the world." I'm Jeri Watson. SOURCE



Related Post:

Medical Research: Dual Adaptation in Deaf Brains

3D Animated Cartoon Film For The Deaf

Friday, February 15, 2013

3D Animated Cartoon Film For The Deaf

VIDEO: 3D animated cartoon short film for the Deaf Russians.



In Kazan created 3D animation, designed for the Deaf. detey.Za decided to take a fairy tale story of Astrid Lindgren "Little Nils Carlson." All the characters speak using Russian Sign Language. Including rats. This is a working, not the modified version. Enjoy watch the video for all!

Мультфильм для глухих.



В Казани создается 3D мультфильм, рассчитанный на глухих детей.За историю решили взять сказку Астрид Линдгрен «Крошка Нильс Карлсон». Все герои разговаривают с помощью языка жестов. Включая крыс. Это рабочая, не доработанная версия.

ASL Phonetics Can Do For Deaf Babies

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

ASL Phonetics Can Do For Deaf Babies

VIDEO [ASL] - Look what American Sign Language phonetics can do for Deaf Babies!



Deaf aunt made a video focusing on ASL phonetics for Deaf toddlers using pictures from Dr. Seuss's Hop on Pop book. She used rhymes and rhythms in all of her sentences by repeating specific handshapes, movements, locations, palm orientations, and non-manual signals.

Deaf-centric materials and videos such as nursery rhymes, ASL phonetics, and language play are lacking for Deaf babies aged between 0 and 5 years old.



Look at how enthralled her 3-month-old Deaf nephew is by watching her play with ASL phonetics (handshape, movement, location, palm orientation, and non-manual signals) in the video. She believe this is the answer.