Published on Oct 2, 2001

For those born into a world of silence, the telephone has always been out of reach, but soon - with the aid of a keyboard - that will all change

Nan is a 15-year-old girl who loves chatting. She enjoys conversations over the phone with her friends on a wide variety of topics. Each day, she spends at least half an hour talking before going to bed.

Like other teenagers, Nan has plenty to chat about. But one thing that makes our imaginary teen different from the majority is that she is deaf and is unable to speak - and types everything she wants to "say" onto a keyboard.

With the help of modern technology, people like Nan who are deaf and mute are being provided with a new way to converse over the phone. By typing what they want to say instead of actually talking, they are soon going to be able to communicate a good deal more easily.

The telephone, which once seemed something out of reach for this group of people, is now becoming a much more attainable means of communication. Thanks to a new technology development called "Telephone for the Deaf", those with severe hearing and speech disabilities - and who have never received a phone call in their life - will soon be able to make and receive calls like everyone else in society.

"The phone is expected to be used as a new alternative medium for communication among those with hearing disabilities," said Apinetr Unakul, the director of the Embedded System Laboratory at King Mongkut Institution of Technology at Lat Krabang, who is leading the project.

He said that technological developments were giving these citizens the chance to utilise this new form of communication.

Telephones for the hearing impaired are the latest technology developments for the disabled, forming part of a project under the initiative of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The project aims to adopt new technology to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities in Thailand.

The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec), which oversees the project, is working with the Embedded System Lab on the Telephone for the Deaf project.

The project began earlier this year, with the goal of building a prototype telephone that will be equipped with a keyboard and display screen to allow users to type and read text messages. The first prototype is expected to come out by the end of the year.

Apinetr said the lab planned to adopt the model of existing talking dictionaries, which already have both keyboards and display screens, as a foundation for the new phone. The lab is currently in the design stage, adding more communication functions to the device, and turning the dictionary into a special telephone.

"We need to write a software program to control and make the device support communication over a phone line," he said.

The design is based on an easy-to-use concept. The phone device will be equipped with a modem to establish the connection to a phone line and, therefore, replace the conventional telephone. By plugging the device into the phone line, a hearing-impaired person can dial the desired telephone number through the keyboard in the same way an ordinary phone is used, Apinetr said.

For the person receiving the call, once the connection is made, a red light starts blinking, showing the recipient that someone is calling. To "talk", users just type the words they want to say on the keyboard which pops up on their screen.

The device, Apinetr added, was designed to support the Thai language.

While people with hearing difficulties can use existing telecommunication technology such as pagers and short message services on mobile phones, the convenience factor is limited.

As regards pagers, recipients have no problem with receiving text messages, but senders need help from someone who knows sign language to understand what is to be sent and then relay that to the pager operator.

As for the short message system (SMS), it also has limitations since both the sender and receiver need to have mobile phones, while the message system is standardised in English.

But whether it's a case of using a pager or SMS technology, Apinetr said that it was still not very convenient for users as the technology was not designed to serve this section of society.

"What we should do is develop the appropriate technology to be of use in their lives," he said.

Telephone for the Deaf is also regarded as a cheaper means of helping the hearing- and speech-impaired communicate. For just Bt3, users can stay connected for as long as they want.

Moreover, the development of this new kind of telephone will not end with landline connections as, with their light weight and mobility features, the lab also plans to develop it to work with the existing cellular network.

The lab is looking to add infrared capabilities to the new phones, to allow users to link with other cell phones. This will enable those with hearing difficulties to chat to friends and family alike friends from a whole host of locations.

The development of the Telephone for the Deaf also has a commercial angle. "To help make this new kind of phone available for widespread use, we hope that the price will be around Bt3,500 to Bt4,000 per terminal," Apinetr said. - pongpen@nationgroup.com

Pongpen Sutharoj

THE NATION