Saturday, February 2, 2013

Improving Communication with a Caption Phone

By Rey Vetangelo


Caption calling is a technological wonder that allows those with hearing disabilities to communicate with those without over the phone. Communicating in this way has traditionally been very difficult between these two parties, because of how it limits various cues that the deaf use to bridge the gap.

In these situations did you think they were being haughty, or unfriendly? Did you defend yourself by thinking that they were just being stupid? Or did you think that any of that body language could convey being tired? That same body language could tell a story of extreme tiredness just as easily as it could convey the meaning of disinterest.

As such, caption calling provides an essential service between parties in order to help them comprehend what other are saying. As we communicate with others, we are able to build important bonds with them that last for a lifetime.

The things you do with your posture, eyes, and gestures can tell volumes to your audience. Standing tall with your shoulders back will show confidence. Keeping solid eye contact in a smiling manner with purposeful and deliberate gestures will convey that same message. Crossing your arms, keeping your facial expressions at a minimal and avoiding eye contact can show defensiveness.

This kind of communication has previously not been possible due to technological limitations on these units. Voice recognition has been around in some form or another for years and years. However, voice recognition of the past was severely limited by the ability of the unit to actually comprehend what was spoken into it. Earlier voice recognition models could be thrown off by issues like volume, accent, inflection, and background noise interrupting the process.

Voice to text programs have been in existence for well over a decade, but they have been hampered by the fact that they required very exacting input in order to be effective. Iterations of the past could be thrown off by volume, accent, diction, and background noise.

As such, people were required to speak exactingly into their units in a very artificial manner that could be difficult to replicate. While caption calling may seem like a simple enough comfort to us with the wonders we enjoy every day, the fact of the matter is that there is a lot that goes into these units.

Streaming text is essential to bridging the gap which exists between the two parties who are trying to communicate. When it all comes down to it, modern technology has given us a miracle in the making by finally giving answers to decades old problems.

They have created a captioned telephone that helps the hearing impaired to communicate via telephone. The captioned telephone listens to what is said and then delivers a text transcript on a screen for the hearing impaired to read and respond to.




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