Video Relay Services for Deaf-Hearing Communication

In the past couple of days, two releases appeared on TMCnet about video relay services that facilitate communications between deaf and hearing people:

Increasing Popularity of Hands On Video Relay Service Spurs Opening of New Call Center

Innovative Video Relay Services Launched by CSD

I don't know why I was never familiar with this kind of service before, but it seems to me a fantastic use of video conferencing and Internet telephony technologies. These services make a live sign interpreter available remotely to interpret between a deaf person using a webcam and a hearing person using a telephone.

The two organizations that put out these releases each have fascinating and amusing videos on their Web sites showing their systems in use:

See the Hands On video here. (Requires QuickTime.)

And the CSD video here. (Click on "Watch Video Now.")

Here is a still shot showing a hearing man on his cell phone using the Hands On service to communicate with his deaf girlfriend (the woman you see is an image of the remote sign interpreter, who is communicating with the deaf user via webcam):

This picture below shows a deaf man using the CSD video relay service to call up and make a reservation at a restaurant. He's using a D-Link videophone system to make his call:

I was interested to learn that Sprint has been operating a video relay service since 1994.

AB -- 3/31/05