Sign language using a videophone or IM-service possible?

[OscarCookie]

Hi everyone,

First of all, I have to admit I'm not auditory impaired. I'm a software/business developer working on video telephone services for a while. (Don't let this scare you off, I'm just human too, Belgian in particular, so I apologise for my lousy english...)
At our company we are creating a softwarebased videophone service. The major advantage of a softwarebased solutions is the tuning in video quality... When our users have a broadband connection, we can deliver very high quality, this means technically lots of frames per second.
When thinking of useful applications, we thought of the possibility of communicating using sign language. It seemed to us that sign languages implicate fast hand gestures, which would require high quality video.

But...

Since I've already told, I'm not auditory impaired, and I don't have acquaintances to help me. That's why I'm looking for connections in the online community. Maybe there are people with experience in sign language over video, is it possible? How much did you have to invest? (Our solution could be browser-based and thus relatively cheap) What solutions did you use? Maybe people can tell me of problems they are experiencing, and solutions there might be using our service...

We are planning a beta release of our software within two months. This will probably mean a free online testversion, where people can use the software, and give feedback on it. Offcourse I will keep in touch about this if there is any interest.


I would like to thank anyone for reading this message and/or responding to it.

 

[ismi]

Google "video relay service". With the rise of broadband, videophones (one made by DLink, I believe, and some others, though I'm not sure who) have become a major part of Deaf culture. Although you can call from VP to VP, VRS (video relay service) is also common; it's a system whereby a Deaf individual can call the service, where an interpreter will relay for them with a phone call. There's also a TTY relay, but since ASL is a more natural language than written English for many, VRS has become very popular.

I'm not sure about technical requirements (which is sad, since I'm a geek), but I believe most videophones operate on the H.323 standard/protocol. I believe Netmeeting, Gnomephone/Ekiga and XMeeting also use this? There's also one relay service, HOVRS (Hands On VRS - google them) that allows you to use iChat and AIM as clients.

The biggest provider of VRS services is Sorenson (not sure if there's a relation to the Sorenson Quicktime codec, although it wouldn't surprise me), but I believe HOVRS is also quite large, and there are a few others.

 

[diehardbiker]

There are more than just one protocols for video compression, Netmeeting, and other IM based Video conferencing uses different protocol than what Sorenson and all other VRS is using. There are more protocols being developing for videostreaming nowadays. CODEC is really just abbreviated for "COmpression DECompression", in other word video image is compressed before transmitting, then decompressed at the destination.

I'm not sure about technical requirements (which is sad, since I'm a geek), but I believe most videophones operate on the H.323 standard/protocol. I believe Netmeeting, Gnomephone/Ekiga and XMeeting also use this? There's also one relay service, HOVRS (Hands On VRS - google them) that allows you to use iChat and AIM as clients.

 

[OscarCookie]

Thanks for your replies!

Has anyone ever used the google service?

If I understand well, different sign languages exist, just like natural languages. How does google cope with this? And how do you pay for the google relay service?

Anyway, I will google this info by myself, but it could be interesting to share this with others

 

[OscarCookie]

Thanks for your replies!

Has anyone ever used the google service?

If I understand well, different sign languages exist, just like natural languages. How does google cope with this? And how do you pay for the google relay service?

Anyway, I will google this info by myself, but it could be interesting to share this with others

Ok, googling has learned me a lot...
I've found several services, and some seem very interesting. I'm interested in people who actually tried these services. Did they work properly? How much do you have to pay for the services (not a single site mentions this...)?

 

[diehardbiker]

If your talking about VRS in America, they are totally funded by Government agency called "Federal Communicaitons Commission", in other word FCC pays for the service on per minute basis for EACH calls! That is how many Deaf Americas use them for totally free, including equipment as well.

Ok, googling has learned me a lot...
I've found several services, and some seem very interesting. I'm interested in people who actually tried these services. Did they work properly? How much do you have to pay for the services (not a single site mentions this...)?

 

[OscarCookie]

If your talking about VRS in America, they are totally funded by Government agency called "Federal Communicaitons Commission", in other word FCC pays for the service on per minute basis for EACH calls! That is how many Deaf Americas use them for totally free, including equipment as well.

Interesting!!

Do you ever use the video communication tools to communicate with others using sign language?