By Stevie Smith Sep 13, 2007, 12:36 GMT
Technological advancements and achievements connected to the mobile phone handset market look set to smash through a communications barrier that has long-since existed between deaf people and those with unaffected hearing but no knowledge of sign language.
Specifically, according to an intriguing report appearing today on European tech news site The Inquirer, a development drive supported by information technology behemoth IBM’s Extreme Blue initiative could soon see mobile phone handset owners able to communicate fully with those suffering from impaired hearing.
Known as SiSi (or Say it, Sign it), the innovative new system takes inputted text-based communication, processes it via a waiting server, and then delivers a sign language translation back to the handset.
However, while potentially extremely useful even in its most basic form, the most appealing part of the SiSi system exists in it interpreting and delivering the sign language communication back via an animated on-screen character, which can then sign directly into the ongoing conversation.
While the Extreme Blue developers are presently relying on running SiSi through a server to attain the animated clips, it is hoped that the avatar-based communications tool will eventually appear on handsets as a Java application.
In its present guise, SiSi’s developers are expecting to see the imaginative technology welcomed into the instant messaging and voicemail spaces. SiSi only runs in English at this time, but the team hopes to expand it into a wealth of other languages in the near future.
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