A new online sign language interpretation service helps the deaf to communicate

SASIWIMON BOONRUANG
Bangkokpost Wednesday January 03, 2007

An interpreter at Ratsuda College performs real-time interpretation between a deaf student and a lecturer via a 512Mbps broadband network. All three parties can see each other. — SASIWIMON BOONRUANG
An innovative online sign language interpreting service that has been successfully used in trials will start official operations here this month.
The project was initiated by Mahidol University's Ratsuda College with support from the private sector. True Corporation is providing 512Mbps nationwide broadband access while computer hardware is supplied by Acer Computer.
Located at Ratsuda College, the online sign language interpreting room is equipped with five stations where interpreters sit in front of computer monitors and web cameras.
They are joined by deaf students, who sit together with the interpreter to convey sign language. The interpreter will then talk to the remote party to convey the message.
The web cameras can display everyone's faces and actions so that the communication is accompanied by visual cues.
One of the project's goals is to allow parents who are away from their deaf children to see and interact with their kids, according to Dr Jitprapa Sri-on, a former director of the college and head of the Sign Language Interpreting Online project.
She added that the online communication also allowed the college to keep a record of the sessions.
Previous communication services such as phone or SMS did not allow parents to see their children.
"Besides providing better communication, the online service solves the problem of others taking advantage of deaf people," she said.
"In the past people have helped deaf students to call their parents overseas asking them to transfer money, finding out the account number and ATM code," Dr Jitprapa claimed, noting that they could then withdraw the money themselves.
She did not know how many people with disabilities had been taken advantage of in this way.
She noted that the technology could also help solve the problem of insufficient numbers of sign language interpreters. There were fewer than 100 sign language interpreters in Thailand today and they could not serve adequately the number of deaf people.
Based on a survey in 2002, the total number of deaf people here was 200,000 out of an overall figure of one million people with disabilities.
Thanks to the online interpretation service, parents can connect to their computer at home with the installed software program to talk to their children via the stations at the college.
Initially, Ratsuda College will collaborate with five organsations for the service: Kanjanapisek Medical Centre, the One Stop Service Centre of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Police Station, Special Education Centre Regional 1, and Mahasarakham Rajabhat University. Online service stations will be set up at these agencies to help deaf people deal with officials.
After the first year of operation, the service is expected to be expanded upcountry.
In the future it will mean that deaf people will not have to be accompanied by an interpreter, as they can access one online to conduct their business and other transactions.
Dr Jitprapa explained that the project followed a model pioneered in the US, where the academic sector provided a similar service for the city of Rochester and then distributed it to other areas. Thailand is believed to be the first country in the region to offer an online sign language interpreting service.
The service stemmed from a research project, Dr Jitprapa said. In contrast to spoken language, sign language comprised many hand movements and facial expressions, something that required a high speed network to transmit for accurate interpretation.
"We have worked closely with True for a few months and expect to launch the service in January to celebrate His Majesty the King's 80th birthday," the project chief said.
The online service will be available from 8am to 11pm seven days a week. The project will be monitored for the first six months to figure out the peak times, the user groups, utilisation and benefits for the users.
The information will then be provided to the government to show how it can support people with disabilities.
In addition, the project will be used as a source for student training in interpretation and technology.
Besides the online interpreting service, the project also provides an information service for people with disabilities, not only the deaf but also the blind. The information will comprise both sign language and spoken and written language.
"The deaf can view the information with images, video clips and sign language while the blind can access the text data via an engine known as "Ta-Tip" (Miracle Eyes) so they can read and understand the text in Thai," according to one project member, who explained that users could download the information to their own computers so as not to overload the college servers.
The college is responsible for the information and interpreter and True will handle the communication network and web site.
Dr Jitprapa said that the next phase of the service would be to have mobile stations that can be used with notebooks and other portable devices so that the deaf can communicate anywhere.