telecommunications bridging between deaf and hearing users in south africa meryl glaser department...

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Telecommunications Bridging between Deaf and Hearing Users in South Africa

Meryl GlaserDepartment of Health and Rehabilitation

Faculty of Health SciencesUniversity of Cape Town

mglaser@uctgsh1.uct.ac.za

William D. TuckerBridging Applications and Networks Group (BANG)

Department of Computer ScienceUniversity of the Western Cape

btucker@cs.uct.ac.za

CVHI 2004, Granada, Spain June 29 - July 2, 2004

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Overview

There is a whole range of developed world possibilities.

The South African Digital Divide strongly influences telecommunications for the Deaf.

Based on these Digital Divide conditions, we have come up with social and technical innovations.

These innovations are conceptualised in an abstract Internet-based communications framework called the SoftBridge.

One of the applications of the SoftBridge is a semi-automated relay for Deaf Telephony.

We are trialing this application in the field at the Deaf Community of Cape Town.

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Introduction

Proliferation of options for Deaf telecommunications

• Multi-modal communications on the Internet: text, voice & video

• Multi-functional and wireless devices: PC, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), mobile handsets, text telephones

• Convergence of the telephone network & Internet

These solutions work when both Deaf and hearing users use the same

• Capabilities

• Modalities

• Service interfaces

• Devices

• Networks

Differences in any of these require some form of bridging

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Bridging for the Deaf via Relay

Telephone and cellular mobile

Internet

Text text telephone

TTY

Chat

Instant Messaging

Sign language Video Conferencing

Web video conferencing

Relay Operator bridges voice to/from with

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Pre-requisites Components

Awareness

Availability

Accessibility

Affordability

Appropriateness}Network Access

Landline, mobile, Internet access, broadband

End-user Devicesmobile devices: cellphone, PDA

PC, laptop, videophones

User InterfacesSoftware and hardware interface

Communication Modalitiestext, voice & video

Human & automated relay

User CapabilitesSensory, Sign Language, Text & ICT literacy

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Local South African Digital Divide

• Population 45 million

• 45% rural

• Mixed developed and developing world

• 14 million cell users, 4 million landline

• 2 of 3 sharing handsets or using community phones

• 50% of households have no phone in dwelling

• 10% have no access to a phone at all

• Legacy of differentiated access

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Another Example: The Phone Gap

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Global Digital Divide

Per 100 people

Phone/cell 41 143

PCs 7.26 40

Internet users 6.82 42

2002 figures from unstats.un.org/unsd/databases.htm

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South African Deaf Demographics

Estimates range from 4 million to 380,000

• Depends on definitions of severity

• Deaf here means South African Sign Language (SASL) as the preferred language

Deaf community

• 30% of Deaf adults are functionally illiterate

• 65% of all Deaf adults are unemployed

• Many are underemployed

• Impacts on socio-economic status

All adds up to little or no ICT access or literacy

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Deaf Telephony in South Africa

Deaf people have little or nothing at all

• 3rd party mediation over the telephone networkTeldem

• Extremely small connectivity circle (650 at best)SMS on cellphones, even landlines (coming!)

• Not synchronous or reliable

• ExpensiveTISSA – Telephone Interpreting Service South Africa

• 6 month government-funded pilot finishedEmail, Instant Messaging, Video Conferencing

• Digital Divide issues: access, literacy, expense

No relay service

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Motivation for our Approach

In light of the South Africa situation, our aims are to:

• Increase connectivity options to the Deaf

• Provide synchronous communication

• Fully automate the relay

• Provide low-cost solutions

• Offer multi-media and multi-functional capacity

• Support mobility

• Establish community-based rather than individualist model

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The SoftBridge concept

DeviceInterfaceModality

User

DeviceInterfaceModality

User

Network Network

Abstracted communication system

Semi-synchronous

• Synchronous when possible

• Asynchronous otherwise

• Inspired by Instant Messaging, SMS and email

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DeviceInterfaceModality

User

DeviceInterfaceModality

User

Network Network

Deaf User Hearing User

voice

audio

handset

Telephone

text

GUI

PC

Internet

Spoken EnglishWritten English

A softbridge application: Deaf Telephony

Semi-automated relay with an Instant Messaging delivery systemExamples

• Hearing user intiates conversation

• Deaf user initiates conversation

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Field Trials with end-users

Pilot trials with ICT-literate Deaf user in the lab

Recent activity with the Deaf Community of Cape Town

• Installed community PCs in the Deaf community centre

• Trained 20 Deaf people in basic ICT skills

• Added Wizard of Oz functionality to combat poor Automatic Speech Recognition

• System instrumented to collect system and user usage metrics

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Future Work

Action Research and software development cycles to change & improve functionality and interfaces for Deaf and hearing end-users

South African Sign Language with video as a bridged modality

Mobility with Wireless LAN (WiFi) and GSM/GPRS

• PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants, e.g. Palm, Pocket PC)

• Cellular handsets

Guaranteed delivery of messages, e.g. emergency services

Carrier-grade functionality to make service attractive to service providers

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Sponsors and Partners

Muchas gracias: Deaf Community of Cape Town participants, John Lewis, Jason Penton

mglaser@uctgsh1.uct.ac.zabtucker@cs.uct.ac.za