Browsing Faculty of Natural Sciences by Subject "Deaf telephony"
Now showing items 1-13 of 13
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Ma, Zhen Yu; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2008)[more][less]
Abstract: Deaf people want to communicate remotely with sign language. Sign language requires sufficient video quality to be intelligible. Internet-based real-time video tools do not provide that quality. Our approach is to use asynchronous transmission to maintain video quality. Unfortunately, this entails a corresponding increase in latency. To reduce latency as much as possible, we sought to adapt a synchronous video codec to an asynchronous video application. First we compared several video codecs with subjective and objective metrics. This paper describes the process by which we chose x264 and integrated it into a Deaf telephony video application, and experimented to configure x264 optimally for the asynchronous environment. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/511 Files in this item: 1
MaTuckerDeafVideoTelephony2008.pdf (348.1Kb) -
Ma, Zhen Yu; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2007)[more][less]
Abstract: The South African Deaf community has very limited telephony options. They prefer to communicate in sign language, a visual medium. Realtime video over Internet Protocol is a promising option, but in reality, the quality is often not enough for the Deaf to be able to understand each other’s sign language. Furthermore, these applications were not design specifically for the Deaf. This paper introduces an asynchronous video chat system to provide better quality video at the expense of increased latency. It determined a codec/transmission protocol combination in the laboratory environment and tested it out with actual Deaf users. This paper will address the results based on comparison between different codecs, transmission protocol on asynchronous video communication for the Deaf. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/486 Files in this item: 1
MaTuckerDeaf2007.pdf (875.1Kb) -
Yi, Long; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2009)[more][less]
Abstract: One way for Deaf people to communicate with hearing people over the telephone is to use a voice relay. The service is often provided with a human relay operator that relays text into voice, and vice versa, on behalf of the Deaf and hearing users. In developed countries, voice relay is frequently subsidised by governments or service providers. There is no such service in South Africa. We have built several automatic voice relay systems for a disadvantaged Deaf community in Cape Town. This paper describes how we augmented a general-purpose communication system for voice relay. Kiara is a fully open source Instant Messaging, voice and video over Internet Protocol communication system based on the Session Initiation Protocol. We integrated automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech technologies into Kiara to provide real-time automatic voice relay for relayed communication. As it stands, Kiara can also be used for standard voice and video relay with a human operator. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/619 Files in this item: 1
YiTucker-SATNAC2009.pdf (257.6Kb) -
Wang, Yuan Yuan; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2009)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper describes work in progress to to provide browser-based sign language communication for Deaf users. The paper introduces the communication requirements for a disadvantaged Deaf community in Cape Town, describes related work of generic open source browser-based video and video systems targeted specifically to Deaf users. We posit an experimental design to test if Adobe Flash can help provide an acceptable video system for Deaf users. We wish to learn if the transport and video quality of browser-based Adobe Flash video can provide an effective platform for sign language communication. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/622 Files in this item: 1
WangTucker-SATNAC2009.pdf (141.2Kb) -
Julius, Elroy P.; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2004)[more][less]
Abstract: This research aims to find an empirical solution for guaranteeing the delivery of synchronous and asynchronous messages within a semi-synchronous IP-based communication domain. The communication infrastructure that is needed between the Deaf and hearing communities forms the application domain within which the research is situated. SoftBridging is a framework for multi-modal bridging as well as multiuser, multi-modal conversation sessions. An implementation of this concept called SoftBridge, is a communication platform that allows a hearing and Deaf person to communicate inside a single uniform space. The system is based on an asynchronous transport mechanism that makes use of various web services to do the actual data conversions such as voice to text and text to voice. Publish-subscribe systems are an emerging paradigm for building a range of distributed applications. The architecture of publish-subscribe systems make use of Message Oriented Middleware (MOM) to guarantee reliable delivery of messages within a communication domain. We will choose one of these systems and incorporate it within the overall architecture of a SoftBridge system. We will modify the existing architecture of a SoftBridge system to reliably transport synchronous as well as asynchronous data over a synchronous established session. We will use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to establish a synchronous session between various users and a SoftBridge system. The system will then be used as a basis for developing a Deaf telephony application that guarantees the delivery of messages no matter the synchrony. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/463 Files in this item: 1
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Julius, Elroy P.; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper presents an empirical solution for guaranteeing the delivery of synchronous and asynchronous messages within a semi-synchronous IPbased communication domain. The communication infrastructure that is needed between Deaf and hearing communities forms the application domain within which the research is situated. SoftBridging is a framework for multi-modal bridging as well as multi-user, multi-modal conversation sessions. An implementation of this concept called SoftBridge for Instant Messaging Bridging Application (SIMBA), is a communication platform that allows a hearing and Deaf person to communicate inside a single uniform space. The system makes use of various web services to do the actual data conversions such as voice to text and text to voice. Publish-subscribe systems are an emerging paradigm for building a range of distributed applications. The architecture of publishsubscribe systems make use of Message Oriented Middleware (MOM) to guarantee reliable delivery of messages within a communication domain. We have incorporated a publish-subscribe system within the overall architecture of SIMBA. We have thus modified the existing architecture of SIMBA to reliably transport semi-synchronous data over a synchronous established session. We have chosen to use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for the establishment of a synchronous session between various users and SIMBA. The system is currently being used as a basis for developing a Deaf telephony application that guarantees the delivery of messages no matter the synchrony. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/509 Files in this item: 1
JuliusTuckerSoftBridging2005.pdf (589.9Kb) -
Yi, Long; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2008)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper describes Kiara, an open source SIPbased communication system that provides the building blocks to enable Deaf relay services. We have implemented a prototype that provides real-time text, voice and video to a variety of end user devices over a variety of networks. The work-in-progress concerns the addition of relay services for the Deaf. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/523 Files in this item: 1
YiTuckerKiara2008.pdf (173.6Kb) -
Glaser, Meryl; Tucker, William D.; Mashao, Daniel (Telkom, 2004)[more][less]
Abstract: Following on the development of several prototypes, we have built a semi-automated Deaf Telephony prototype on the SoftBridge platform. This prototype relays text and speech between Deaf users on the Internet and hearing users on the telephone system. Previous work with a pilot trial in the laboratory revealed several opportunities for enhancement. We added a Wizard of Oz (WoOz) to replace the poorly performing automatic speech recognition functionality as well as H.323 breakout, more extensive logging and advanced call initiation functionality. In order to trial the current prototype, we initiated an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training programme with the Deaf Community of Cape Town. Twenty Deaf users participated in the training. In addition to the training, much baseline user data was collected to give an indication of how Deaf users communicate with hearing users as well as how familiar they are with ICT devices and services. The work for the rest of this year requires us to recruit and train a WoOz operator. Subsequent trials will essentially consist of monthly cycles of prototype introduction, training, automated metric and log collection, user feedback and then feature enhancement. Linguistic analyses of the text output of the Deaf users will be analyzed. We hope to refine the SoftBridge prototype to fit the needs of the Deaf and hearing users, from both technical and social viewpoints. We expect that these iterative cycles will continue for some time and will teach us many lessons regarding multi-modal semi-synchronous IP-based communications systems. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/447 Files in this item: 1
GlaserTuckerMashaoDeafTelephony2004.pdf (133.0Kb) -
Lewis, John; Tucker, William D.; Blake, Edwin H. (Telkom, 2002)[more][less]
Abstract: Users and computing equipment have varying capabilities that include the abilities to exchange text and audio, engage in high bandwidth communication, etc. As the technological options increase, e ective communication between the di erent media has be able to bridge across these options: the bridges have to take into account network quality, end-user equipment capabilities as well as user preferences and capabilities. Our research proposes a Soft- Bridge, an abstracted communications platform for the construction of applications across disparate capabilities found in various Digital Divides. We outline the architecture and the requirements that the SoftBridge has to ful ll. An approach and some initial work is described. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/606 Files in this item: 1
LewisTuckerBlake-SATNAC2002.pdf (126.3Kb) -
Tucker, William D.; Glaser, Meryl; Lewis, John (Telkom, 2003)[more][less]
Abstract: Following on several partial prototypes, we built an automated Deaf Telephony bridging application with the SoftBridge platform. The SoftBridge performs multi-modal bridging in real-time using Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) utilities accessed via web services. To perform Action Research with the Deaf community in Cape Town, we invited a Deaf user (DU) to participate in a pilot study. We conducted three tests varying the input/output modalities of the hearing user (HU). The DU had a standard text in/text out Instant Messaging client. The HU client used the following specific modality combinations: Text & TTS in/Text out, TTS in/Text out and TTS in/Text & ASR out. The SoftBridge logged the conversations for subsequent analysis. The trial showed a largely successful conversation. Success factors include a) a text and computer literate DU who is familiar with research practise, b) using the system to explain the research as we conducted it and c) that the multi-modal bridging capabilities overcame the expected shortcomings of TTS and especially ASR. The lessons learned from this trial will be applied to the next trial once the necessary modifications have been implemented. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/535 Files in this item: 1
TuckerDeafTelephony2003.pdf (108.8Kb) -
Glaser, Meryl; Tucker, William D. (2004)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper presents a description of telecommunications for Deaf people in South Africa by contrasting the situation in the developed world. We explain the main motivations for providing a locally appropriate solution. Research activity began with a community-based field trial of TTYs. The recommendations of the trial motivated an innovative approach to provide synchronous and accessible relay services. Drawing from international technological developments, we designed a software solution called the SoftBridge. We employ iterative Action Research cycles to drive technological modifications to the SoftBridge and to encourage adoption by the end-user community. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/593 Files in this item: 1
GlaserTucker-CVHI2004.pdf (162.9Kb) -
Penton, Jason; Tucker, William D.; Glaser, Meryl (Telkom, 2002)[more][less]
Abstract: We have developed a prototype bridge that relays text and speech between Teldem, a text telephone for the Deaf, and a standard telephone or H.323 endpoint. Telgo323 uses modified H.323 media gateways and open source Text to Speech and Speech to Text software. The approach allows for easy integration of new tools as the technologies mature. This paper presents the design of the implementation prototype, discusses Teldem tone decoding, and suggests directions for future work. The Telgo323 provides evidence that an automated relay bridge is imminently viable for the Deaf Community, and further demonstrates an attractive approach for building bridges over the Digital Divide. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/612 Files in this item: 1
PentonTuckerGlaser-SATNAC2002.pdf (99.60Kb) -
Glaser, Meryl; Tucker, William D. (Telkom, 2001)[more][less]
Abstract: A Teldem provides text-based telephony services to the deaf. Despite an array of text-based communications mechanisms on the web, the Teldem is the only means of synchronous telecommunication available to a deaf person. We examine a human-assisted relay that provides a bridge between the deaf and the hearing, and then propose several additional bridges. These bridges take advantage of both standard and cutting edge technologies. We present each bridge's impact on the deaf with respect to synchrony, connectivity, independence, and the Digital Divide. It is hoped that by deploying trials for each bridge, we can eventually provide the deaf with equal access. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/613 Files in this item: 1
GlaserTucker-SATNAC2001.pdf (146.9Kb)
Now showing items 1-13 of 13