Soon DeafBlinds will be able to drive independently!

A blind man said "has hope (is) that one day he might earn his driver's license -- something he never before imagined possible...." This is absolutely remarkable. I certainly did not foresee this happening anytime soon. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) challenged USA to build a vehicle for the Blind. They had certain requirements that must be met in order to be considered an acceptable solution. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) took it a step further and held several different contests with the goal to inspire the students to come up with an innovative solution. A nine-person team of students from Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory got it!

http://autos.aol.com/article/students-design-car-for-blind/?ncid=AOLCOMMauto

"Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory developed a driver-assist system that uses laser range finders, an instant voice-command interface and a host of other cutting-edge technologies to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake and accelerate. The new system was put to good use last year (2009) at a summer camp where 20 blind and low-vision teens were able to take the wheel of a retrofitted dune buggy and navigate a course completely on their own."

Soon enough, there wouldn't be any excuse for Blinds and DeafBlinds to not be able to navigate to anywhere in the world. How sweet is that?

The Mystery of the X in X Video Relay Services...

Tonight's interpreter was very interesting, She was friendly and very competent. She worked for XVRS. 

I googled XVRS and the first result was www.cacvrs.org/CAC_Relay/Home.html ??? That really threw me off. The website is still down. I even wrote a blog about CACVRS a while ago. http://www.cacvrs.org/ did not work and according to myvrs.org, CACVRS filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. So I did some more googling and I found this http://cacrelay.com/xvrs/.

http://cacrelay.com/

I noticed the main domain is http://cacrelay.com/ I clicked on it and what do you know!?
"CAC Relay Services provide you choices in how to communicate. Whether you do it through Video Relay Service (XVRS.TV)..."

I am utterly baffled. Why does CAC Relay call their Video Relay Services XVRS ??? What does X stand for?  Nevertheless, CAC Relay (or XVRS) provides the following:

• 24 / 7 VRS
• VP: XVRS.TV
• Hearing can call @ (866) 500-9662
• 10 digit number and 911
• Text Relay through AIM (XVRSRelay)
• VRI (competitive rates)
• Spanish VRS 24 / 7
• VP: SpanishVRS.TV
• Hearing can call @ V: (866) 448-8398

There is one particular thing I did like about their website, they list their public booths. A public booth is where you can go and make a VRS call without having to pay for anything. http://173.201.120.209/cacrelay/CAC_Relay/Booth_Locations.html. That is nice to know.

So can anyone clarify what's the relationship between XVRS and CACRelay? Thank you in ahead.

Hearing and Deaf now can drink from the ocean!

1.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, but that's not going to be a problem in the future. We figured out how to purify the salty water from the ocean into fresh water. How awesome!

A quick background:
70% of the world is water. That is equal to about 300 quintillion gallons. That's a lot of water, but we couldn't drink most of it because it comes from the ocean. The ocean water is too salty for us to drink. It'll make us sick.

California actually established the first full-scale seawater desalination facility last year, but it wasn't until this year that the California Department of Public Health finally approved the water for public use. How exciting! That means we'll never have to worry about running out of freshwater.

How it works:

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/californias-first-full-scale-desalination-plant-lets-residents-drink-pacific-ocean

First, the plant will filter all the dirt and chemicals out of the water. Then it will go through a special layer of a membrane consisting of millions of holes. The holes will be big enough to allow water go through, but not for the salt. That's probably the simplest explanation you'll find. The reason why we haven't established this technique all over the world is because it is expensive, but then again our technology is finding ways to make it cheaper and affordable.

Cool huh? :)

Has Viable Returned from the Dead?

Well, what do you know??? Viable is still up and running. I thought it was either taken over and replaced by another VRS company or had filed for bankruptcy and was shut down. Neither seems to be the case. Sometime last year, Viable was on its last breath and the doctors were ready to call it quits, but Snap!VRS came in and rescued Viable.

So the question is did Snap!VRS acquire Viable?
From a legal standpoint, no, Snap!VRS has not acquired Viable. However, that technicality does not affect your user experience. Snap!VRS is operating Viable and providing all the service support you need for your VRS calls.

http://www.viable.net/

Viable is still offering 24/7 VRS, VCO, 911, 10-digit number, VideoMail, and Viable Vision.

• VideoMail will allow you to personalize your video answer message, receive notifications through your pager and/or email, and finally you can view your video messages on your pager,  Mac / PC, VPAD, or on Viable Vision.
• Viable Vision is a software you can download for free onto your PC (not Mac). It'll allow you to record yourself or save conversations. Another cool thing about it is you can do text chat which means you can type down anything you want such as your SSN or phone numbers without having to sign it to the interpreter or another customer. That's neat.
• Also it looks like they are in the process of adding VRI services. That would be great; being able to go into a hospital and talk to your doctor with an interpreter all ready to go on your VPAD.

However, bad news... According to the website, the VPAD+ is currently unavailable. What a shame! Additionally, the website also says
'There's no reason to leave your friends and family in the dark when you upgrade to Viable Vision! The software operates on standard technologies that are compatible with most videophones, so you can continue to call the same people you love talking with.' (https://www.viable.net/product/vv)  I wonder which videophone in particular does not work with VPAD?

I made a test call and got an interpreter with an androgynous look, but nevertheless, the interpreter was great. The interpreter was a master with body language. I would recommend the interpreter to anyone. My hearing friend could tell it was a female based on the voice, but also did onfirmed that the interpreter did an excellent job with the call.

I'm in the process of contacting Snap!VRS / Viable to ask them some questions. Do you have any particular questions you would like me to ask? Thanks!

Next VRS Provider : XVRS

SnapVRS, the Eye or Ojo, as we say in Spanish, of VRS

Finally, I found another Video Relay Provider (VRS) that will provide a free videophone to Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. The name of the videophone is called "PVP-900 Ojo" The Ojo is a stand-alone desktop appliance that affords the highest quality video transmission and blends industry-standard technology with unique patented enhancements to achieve jitter-free two-way video calls. A fun fact is the word, "Ojo" is a Spanish word that translates to "Eye". It is distributed by Snap!VRS. Snap!VRS is owned by Snap Telecommunications, Inc and is certified by the FCC.

Naturally, I was curious to find out more information! I went to their website (http://snapvrs.com/) and their facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/snapvrs). I see they do offer 24/7 interpreters, VCO, 10-digit number, and VRI. Although, it is not handled by Snap!VRS. Instead, "Snap!VRS has partnered with Communication Access Network of America, Inc...Please visit www.caninterpreting.com to find out more about rates and reservations for VRI services." Anyhow, they also do two things that I think are cool. 1) You do not need to sign out your SSN, your credit card #s, or anything like that to the VR interpreter. Instead, you can type it in using your free Ojo. That's nice. It'll give some people a better sense of security. 2) You can make your own video greetings for other people to view. I do wonder if the interpreters can view this also during any calls made by Hearing callers?

Deaf can call @ "call.snapvrs.com"
Hearing can call @ 888-711-SNAP (7627).
(A bonus for the Hearing callers, the Ojo can be purchased for $299.99 with a monthly subscription fee.)

**FYI, it seems there is another OJO model called "Ojo PVP-1000". I'll have to contact Snap!VRS and check on that a bit more.**

Lastly, I made a call to my mother to say hello. The conversation went very smoothly. There were no video delays. The interpreter did a great job translating my American Sign Language into English. My mother agrees. The only suggestion I have is if I sign out something in the middle of a conversation, I would like the interpreter to either appropriately interrupt my mother or add my question or comment to the end of the conversation rather than make me sign things twice. Again, it's not a big deal. I'm just thinking about a perfect world with 100% equal and fair communication.

I'm looking forward to the next VRS blog. Apparently Snap!VRS also bought or took over ViableVRS? I'll have to investigate  that too. Will follow up soon.

Next VRS Provider : ViableVRS

Why is Federal Video Relay Service (VRS) closed on the weekends???

Interestingly enough, I tried to make a call using myfedvrs.tv yesterday (on Sunday). Much to my surprise, it was closed! I am a little bit confused. If the government is supposed to be accessible 24/7, then why is their Video Relay Services only open from 7am to 11pm ET M-F (excluding Federal holidays)? Isn't that sending a misleading message to America?

http://www.fedvrs.us/session/new

Nevertheless, I tried again today (Monday) and made the call to myfedvrs.tv. I got a middle aged female who looked quite professional. She gave me the impression that she was a high-caliber interpreter. As the conversation began, she had her mouth closed and signed pure ASL. Now that was a first!  Very few people can sign pure ASL with their mouth closed. That was neat to see. However, I cannot say the same about her voicing skills. She kept missing my fingerspelling and  also a few of my signs. She never bothered to double check with me. Instead, she just apologized to the friend that I called, and said "Interpreter error" and continued interpreting. Now I thought that was unprofessional. I think every interpreter should ALWAYS double check with the clients regardless. My hearing friend agreed, the conversation was confusing at times.

Anyhow, they have a clean and simple website. Easy to navigate.  They offer a 10-digit number, Spanish VRS, a  software you can download to your PC or MAC, and VCO. They do not do VRI, IP-relay, or captel.

• ASL Video users : myfedvrs.tv
• Spanish Videophone users: espanol.myfedvrs.tv
• Videophone users : vco.myfedvrs.tv

Additionally, they do offer something special that I do not know any other VRS  provider has and that is ISDN. You can use your ISDN to call their VRS.

• Non-emergency: 877.709.5798
• 911/Emergency: 877.646.7441
• (NEW) Hearing Callers: 877.709.5801

Lastly, it seems myFedVRS is owned by Sprint??? In fact, when I called yesterday, a message appeared, "Sorry, we are closed. Please call Sprint"... Isn't that misleading? I emailed them a few times and never got a response.

Next VRS Provider: Snap!VRS

Can you read my lips? No? How about a robot's lips?

Japanese scientists are developing human-like robots. So human-like that it's actually creepy in some ways. How are we going to tell the difference between human beings and robots / androids.

fastcompany

Geminoid F is the newest product of the Intelligent Robotics lab atsaka University and robot builders Kokoro Co. Ltd.  "Silicone realistic skin, convincing hair, and teeth that seem so real they make Geminoid F have a nearly human smile." Not only that, but the robot also comes with a a tele-operation system which uses a smart camera to track your facial expressions and replicate them.

In other words, Japanese scientists are working on a robot that will  imitate you. Soon enough, we'll be able to read robots' lips. I wonder if that's a good thing or not? After all, everyone lip's are different, thus making it a challenge for us to lipread with ease.

iPhone may be the first to have Video Relay Services (VRS)!!!!!

"As they do with any major new iPhone OS release, people have been tearing apart the iPhone OS 4.0 SDK from the very second it was available. Almost immediately, someone noticed that bits and pieces of iChat had found their way into the new software." (Link).

The reason why this is a big deal is because 4g is coming out. Technically, it is already here. Sprint have started implementing it across USA and Tmobile, Verizon, and ATT is likely to start in 2011. 

Currently our phones and smartphones are using 3g standards. It allows simultaneous use of speech and data services and offers data rates of about 10 mbps download and 5 mbps upload. In other words, it'll take an hour to download a DVD movie. 4G will be 10x faster. That means it'll take less than 10 minutes to download a DVD movie. That's fast. Fast enough to do videoconferencing. :)

Anyway, it looks like the people from Apple may be preparing for the new technology. But then I do wonder about Sprint's HTC EVO 4G coming out this summer. It is supposed to be the best of all smartphones. Not only the specs are far beyond any other smartphones and it'll work with 4g, but it'll also come with a camera on each side. That'll make videoconferencing very possible. 

Is iPhone gonna be the first? Will Sprint be the first? What do you think? 

Can Deaf Animals Really Be Taught To Read?

We can teach animals tricks, including sign language. We can teach animals to become our best friends or guides. We might as well finish the circle of life by teaching them how to read...

Hutto

Lucy McVey, the principal at Bluebonnet Elementary, is the owner of a bulldog named Hutto.

"McVey has taught the 6-year-old dog to read 10 words and phrases on flashcards, she said. The words include high five, touchdown, sit and profile. McVey and Peaches do demonstrations at schools and other organizations to encourage children to read, McVey said. The white dog, who has been deaf since birth, also serves as an example of how disabilities can be overcome, she said."All of us have something of value to contribute," the Round Rock principal said."

Anyone else out there have Deaf dogs, Deaf cats, Deaf parrots, or Deaf fish that can read?

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/deaf-bulldog-shows-off-her-reading-abilities-to-514236.html

Google will soon be able to translate Sign Language

Google can already translate over 50 languages. What about Sign Language??? Sooner than you think!

Here's a list of the languages they currently can translate:

Afrikaans	Danish	Greek	Japanese	Polish	Swedish
Albanian	Dutch	Haitian Creole	Korean	Portuguese	Thai
Arabic	English	Hebrew	Latvian	Romanian	Turkish
Belarusian	Estonian	Hindi	Lithuanian	Russian	Ukrainian
Bulgarian	Filipino	Hungarian	Macedonian	Serbian	Vietnamese
Catalan	Finnish	Icelandic	Malay	Slovak	Welsh
Chinese	French	Indonesian	Maltese	Slovenian	Yiddish
Croatian	Galician	Irish	Norwegian	Spanish
Czech	German	Italian	Persian	Swahili

Google has a prototype app where you can take a picture with your Android phone. It will digitize the picture into text. Then the text will be translated into any language of your choice. Cool huh?
"Right now this technology only works for German-to-English translations and it's not yet ready for prime time. However, it shows a lot of promise for what the future might hold. Soon your phone will be able to translate signs, posters and other foreign text instantly into your language. Eventually, we're hoping to build a version of Google Goggles that can translate between all of the 52 languages currently supported by Google Translate — bringing even more information to you on the go."

One day, we willl be able to carry a device that will allow us to communicate with anyone in the world.