Hitachi, the Japanese electronics corporation is admirably manipulating the wonders of science for the much ignored field of telecom for the deaf. A fascinating new technology being developed opens up the world for the deaf by making it possible for them to communicate on a global scale
THE deaf and dumb may finally have a
voice in this largely insensitive world.
Hitachi, the Japanese electronics group,
is harnessing three rapidly developing
technologies - computer based-imaging, voice recognition and automatic
translation - to help a person converse
with someone deaf hundreds of miles
away in a foreign language, and be
clearly understood.
The deaf person seated in front of a
computer wears a glove which enables
the machine to recognise the sign
language used by him. This is then
translated first into Japanese text, and
then into English. A voice synthesiser
converts the English text into spoken
English which is then transmitted over
the phone line to a simple video phone.
The screen at that end shows the speaker and provides the words in both spoken and written English.
The person on the other end need
not be proficient in lip-reading nor
should he or she have undergone special
training in understanding sign language. To reply, one just
has to speak normally
into the videophone and
the entire process is then
reversed. The deaf person views the reply on
the screen in written
Japanese through a
computer-animated
image of a person using
sign language.
A Hitachi spokesman says that the project would be completed
within two or three
years. But there still
remains a lot to do. The
company which is
already working on a
base of about 500 signs,
will have to recognise
,619ah-k- 4,500 more signs before
it is formally marketed.
Scientists at Hitachi
plan to incorporate a
three-dimensional computer graphics technology to ensure that the
machine produces three-
dimensional images of
the face and the upper
part of the body on the
screen. This is essential
because if sign languages
are to be understood on a screen, three-dimensional images are
required. The scientists have also to
develop a software to ensure the smooth
transition between signs.
According to Stewart Simpson, the
chief executive of the Council for the
Advancement of Communications with
the Deaf People, the concept is
Imind boggling', and could do
away with the need and use of interpreters used in various services such as
Typetalk run by the Royal National
Institute for Deaf and the British
Telecom. "We would welcome anything
that facilitates the growth of technology
in this field as this may help overcome
communication problems for deaf
people. It seems very exciting and I
hope that the project is successfully
completed," he adds.
Simpson argues that every country
has its own sign language and
attempts to develop an universally
acceptable international sign language
have not been successful. So further
work may be required to adapt the
Hitachi system for use by people knowing English and other languages. For
instance, there are nearly 8.4 million
people in Britain alone who suffer from
hearing loss.
Colin Brooks, head of research and
development at Palatype, a British company manufacturing equipment for
simultaneous written transcription of
speech, believes that the Hitachi telephone system, while still a prototype, is
just amazing. "We shall keep our eyes
on it to see if we can develop things
capable of working with it. At the
moment, the system is geared to work
for the Japanese, so whether it can be
adapted to work for those who know
English remains a puzzle. But it is
certainly a step in the right direction,"
he adds.
Brooks thinks that once people
develop better access to advanced
telecommunication systems, a number
of inhibitions would automatically dissolve. This, in turn, would create a climate which is conducive for fostering a
healthy relationship between the deaf
and those not afflicted with such a
handicap.
Even though Hitachi is unwilling to
forecast the costs and the computer
capacity it will need, the company
believes that several potential uses of
this particular technology will continue
to emerge.
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