Telecoms opening up for deaf callers

UK surveys suggesting that deaf / blind individuals weren't having their needs met by technology has evidently spurred the Royal National Institute for Deaf (RNID) and a Bedfordshire-based firm to create alternatives that assist the hard of hearing with communicating freely on phone / conference calls. While there are offerings that convert voicemail to SMS and give movie-goers textual representations of the script, these two outfits are looking to spruce up the generally poor telecommunication options available for the deaf. RNID is unveiling a ScreenPhone, which allows hearing impaired people to speak to another recipient, while a tuned-in translator converts his / her replies into text seen on the unit's monochrome LCD. This Typetalk service is presumably included gratis with the purchase of the £200 ($373) device, but disclosing those juicy date details with a third wheel on the line could cause a bit of embarrassment for all parties involved. Nevertheless, Teletec is offering up a similar service which doesn't require a special phone, but instead utilizes any internet-connected device to display text that an "online operator" channels to their screen. This convenience, however, will run you a whopping £1 ($1.89) per minute, so callers should probably keep those messages short and sweet should they opt for this. Both UK-based services will be launching "early next year," and will likely be huge upgrades from that lamentable lip-reading contraption currently available.

[Shane @ Oct 19th 2006 11:27PM]

Sounds like some of the (free) services that have been available in the US for quite some time. TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) and Relay operators who converse between TDD users and standard voice phone users are very common. Some are run by state agencies, others are run by the federal government.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=TDD+relay+service&btnG=Google+Search

[Nick @ Oct 20th 2006 2:45AM]

i know i spent a night using a free service found somewhere on sprint.com to have a 3rd party operator relay lines to unsuspecting friends. ahahahahahaha you can type anything into the little text field and they have to say it ahahahahaha.... its fun putting calls in to yourself and listening to the operator telling you that he is grabbing your schlong right now ahahahahaha good times

[Nick @ Oct 20th 2006 3:49AM]

I'll stick to sending SMSs to my deaf Dad thanks - �1 a minute is just ridiculous, there are porn numbers cheaper than that!

[tommy Gallagher @ Oct 20th 2006 4:41AM]

like the first poster said, this is basically a slightly more elaborate sounding version of our tty/relay system. deaf users in the US dial 711 and their text-based ttys connect to a hearing relay operator who voices for them. ttys (or as hearing folks say, tdds) have been in use by the deaf for ages for deaf-to-deaf calls, using old decommissioned western union teletype machines as early as the 50s.

nowadays the big thing in the states is broadband based video phones like a sorenson vp-100 (itself a rebadged d-link 'eye-2-eye'). these allow the deaf to talk to eachother using their native language, (here ASL) instead of forcing them to type in english. they can also call the hearing via a relay operator, like with the ttys. most deaf households recieve these videophones for free from relay providers, and sometimes even broadband, as the relay companies costs are largely subsidized by the gov't under the ADA.

this tech is relatively pretty old-school....surprised to see it on engadget.

[Jesus @ Oct 20th 2006 7:00PM]

WHAT!