TRS Update - Part 2
Public Forum and Technology Expo on Telecommunications Relay Service
Part One
Following the morning session with Commissioners and staff of the
Federal Communication Commission, I took advantage of the lunch break to
visit the Expo. I joined Nancy Bloch of the NAD to test some cool video
phones that sell at $600 a pop. Took a peep at CSD and Sprint's Video
Relay Service. Picked up fact sheets on Sprint's Enhanced Turbo Code
(E-Turbo) and MCI's IP Relay Service. Browsed at the tables for Sorenson
EnVision, Panasonic's accessible products (cordless and wireless phones
on display). Asked for a demonstration of Audio Visual Mart's
Braillephone (TM). Checked out Damax International's cellphone antennas
that claim to eliminate noise from digital handsets in hearing aids.
Chatted with lots of great people and soaked in what I could at other
exhibits.
Before leaving the Expo, I called the NVRC office from Ultratec and
Wisconsin Relay's exhibit, using the new CapTel and Fastran. There is
always something magical in hearing Debbie Jones laugh! After a break in
the courtyard for hearing dog/squirrel patrol leader Dana, fortified
with the forum's delicious box lunch from Sutton Place Gourmet, I
settled down to report on the afternoon session. Here's what made it
into my notes.
Pam Gregory, Chief of the Disability Rights office, Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau, served as Moderator for a Panel on TRS
Technologies for the 21st Century.
1. Kelly Stephens, National Marketing Director of Communication
Services for the Deaf, talked about CSD's IP Video Relay. The IP Video
Relay is on a web-based platform. When using this service, you have a
user ID and set up a profile with your preferences, such as
frequently-called numbers. The screen has a chat room box on the left
that you can use to type messages to the interpreter. A video of people
using the IP Video Relay gave a feel for how smooth the call can be. One
person ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut; a second person spoke for himself
but used the sign language interpreter to interpret the conversation he
was receiving.
2. Tom McLaughlin, President of NXi Communications, Inc. gave
background on his company. It was established in 1990 and since 1992 it
has focused exclusively on developing telecommunications for deaf
people. The company's NTS had a goal of giving TTY access to everyone in
an organization, using a TTY "server" so that not everyone at
every desk would need a TTY. NTS is now used by federal, state and local
governments and businesses. The new NTS 4.0, which was just installed at
the Dept. of Education this week, addresses some new concerns. One is
security. NTS 4.0 now has all communication encrypted. A central module
is really a software switch and NTS servers can link. Any consumer at
home can download the free software. McLaughlin has demonstrated using
NTS to make possible an 8-way call with four people in four federal
agencies. NXi is pushing to add voice support soon.
3. Jack Cassell, Wisconsin TRS Contract Administrator, talked about
Wisconsin's decision to start a trial project with Fastran and CapTel.
It began October 1 and continues through the end of June. He noted that
the state motto is "Forward" and that moving on to this new
technology keeps this spirit. This enhanced TRS is especially designed
for consumers who are late-deafened, have cochlear implants, are
profoundly deaf but able to speak for themselves, VCO and 2-line VCO
users, and amplified phone users.
Rob Engelke, President of Ultratec, Inc. noted that Maryland is also
doing a CapTel trial now. He explained that CapTel works like
television's realtime captioning. The phone allows you to hear the voice
of the person you are talking to if you have residual hearing, and at
the same time you can read the captions. The other party's voice is also
piped to a CA who revoices on a computer that is highly trained to the
speech recognition of its user. The system then pipes the captions to
the caller.
Engelke noted some features that enable CapTel to bring telephone
calls closer to the functional equivalence required by the Americans
with Disabilities Act. You dial this phone the same is in a traditional
call; the connection to the CapTel CA is automatic. The CA is also
invisible to both parties; you and the person you call just talk to each
other. You press the keys on your CapTel phone when you reach voice menu
systems. If you reach an answering machine, you can leave a message
without having to call back a second time through the CA.
Linda Webb, a Maryland CapTel trial participant, did a demonstration
of using the CapTel. Engelke said that during the call she was receiving
text at approximately 150 words per minute. The Wisconsin and Maryland
trials are showing approximately 98.5% accuracy in the captions.
4. Lee McCabe, District Manager for the Northeast for Electronic
Tele-Communications, Inc., said that his company created the intercept
announcement machine in 1933. This machine is responsible for those
automatic messages you get on some phone calls, such as "the number
you have dialed has changed" or ones giving directions about a new
area code. Verizon and AT&T put their tag on it, but the equipment
comes from his company. The intercept machine can provide information in
28 languages, and TTY was added as another. The TTY intercept is viewed
as text. In 1992, the Social Security Administration in Baltimore
installed a call sequencer (for taking calls in the order received)
which used this TTY capability.
5. Chris McManus, a Computer Specialist in the FCC's Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, placed a call on Krown's PVCO (Pocket VCO)
which has been around for a while but is still new to many people.
6. Jim Tobias, President of Inclusive Technologies, talked about the
future of relay. We started with the "vanilla TRS" which had a
person typing on a TTY to a CA who voiced the message to the person
being called and then typed back that person's response. Now TRS is
evolving in a technical environment that is quite different. We now have
small keypad devices you can use to enter text. Tobias expects to see
text created on these, wireless phones, and other devices. We are now
seeing requests for these devices to also have the capability for video.
Transporting on wireline, wireless and Internet is no longer a technical
challenge. What is a challenge is meeting the "content
conversion". There has been an explosion of realtime conversion.
You can now request someone who speaks another language through voice,
text, voice mail, etc. There is an English to Pashtu translation service
you can call because the person who invented it discovered there are no
Pashtu training courses. All this shows how mature the technology is.
Everybody else has now adopted the text medium. You see it used for
chat and instant messaging. It's getting easier and easier to send text.
Sign language is hot area of transmission and reception. Tobias showed
some research in automatic sign language recognition and another version
that took speech and offered it as sign language.
Adopting his "techno-pessimist" role, Tobias said that it's
the administration and human service parts that complicate TRS. How can
we fund this when technology moves so fast? How can we prevent fraud?
How can we get the market?
Tobias is working in a Rehabilitation Engineering and Rehabilitation
grant on Telecommunications Access and Technology funded by NIDRR. A
project is working on TTY text integration.
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Q: Isn't it distracting for the CapTel user to hear two voices?
A: (Rob Engelke) When using the CapTel, the only audio stream heard is
the voice of the person called. The CA talks only to the computer, and
the CA's voice is not transmitted.
Q: Are there standards for speed and accuracy of captioning for TRS
that the FCC is addressing?
A: (Pam Gregory) There is an open docket for this; if you have concerns,
you should let the Commissioners know.
Q: Does CapTel work in reverse for Hearing Carry Over?
A: (Rob Engelke) Not at this point.
Q: Does NTS run on standard Windows XP? Does it have scalable fonts
and ability to translate to Braille?
A: (Tom McLaughlin) It runs on Windows 95 or higher and XP. You can set
the font size. NXi is now attempting to do a closer integration with
screen readers.
Q: The USA Video Relay Service (by CSD) camera window is very small
in the demonstration. Have you considered a wider angle lens?
A: (Kelly Stephens) There are options that allow the video to become
bigger. The consumer and interpreter have some control by moving closer
or further from the camera. But a smaller screen gives a crisper
picture. There are also other things that influence the picture such as
lighting and the colors being worn.
Q: How much of a concern is it that the FCC has such a cumbersome
process for approving new technology that will bring TRS closer to
functional equivalence?
A: (Jim Tobias) That is the number one concern right now.
