mobileu.co.uk

Work progressing on 'deaf' mobile phone use

Researchers in the USA are developing a practical system through which deaf people would be able to 'talk' on a mobile phone.

The scientists at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle hope to effectively transmit American Sign Language via compressed video over a 3G cellular network, without the users requiring the faster and more expensive 4G network.

The engineers have so far been able to increase image quality around faces and hands used in ASL, while still delivering intelligible sign language via video at speeds of 30 Kbit/sec.

A three-week initial trial of the programme – tentatively called MobileASL – on older phones equipped with cameras for video chat, is coming to an end. The handsets use software that can also work on a range of smartphones and other mobile devices.

They enlisted the help of 11 students in a UW summer academy for people who are deaf or hard of hearing who are also interested in computing careers. The group made 200 calls using the software, each lasting around nine seconds, with generally positive results.

The field study was headed by Jessica Tran, a doctoral student in electrical engineering. A larger test on MobileASL is planned for the winter.