February 14, 2007
Sign Language On Your Cellphone
With the help of a grant from the National Science Foundation, researchers at the University of Washington and Cornell are working on new software to help transmit compressed video of sign language using cellphones, reports MedGadget.
"MobileASL is a video compression project at the University of Washington with the goal of making wireless cell phone communication through sign language a reality.
If you're wondering why it's necessary, since cell phones have text messaging and would enable deaf or hearing impaired mobile users to communicate, it's important to know that many take pride in the traditional bonds they feel with others who communicate by signing and are in favor of preserving this tradition. A small, but growing number of deaf parents are even intentionally using embryonic genetic testing to ensure that their children share their deafness.
In an interview in 2002, with Mme Nathalie Palama, in charge of the Centre for Deaf and Hearing Impaired in Geneva (CRAL), Palama mentioned that what would be useful would be for cell phones to integrate the symbols of dactylology - the manual alphabet used by hearing-impaired and speech-impaired people -, which does exist for computer keyboards. She said "You would think this is not necessary since we already have SMS, but these symbols are meaningful to our culture."
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