Hi-Tech Captions

Reported July 2005

ATLANTA (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Over 28 million Americans have some type of hearing loss, ranging from a partial loss to deafness. Sign-language interpreters and assistive-listening devices can help but they aren't available everywhere. Now a new discovery puts the solution in the person's own hands.

The cheering of the fans, the crack of the bat, not everybody can hear the excitement of a summer baseball game. That silence will soon be replaced with a portable machine that allows people to read what's going on, as it's going on.

Electrical and optical engineer Leanne West has spent five years at the Georgia Tech Research Institute bringing that idea to life. West says, "What I hope with the system is that we're giving people an easy way to give captions to their patrons, and so maybe it will encourage more people to do it."

Most places already have wireless networks installed, whether you're at a baseball park, concert or movie theater. These places would send out captions through their wireless network. Then, all you need is a personal digital assistant loaded with captioning software to pick up the captions. The tiny unit displays the captions from the PDA so you can read what others are hearing while you watch what is happening.

West explains, "It allows you to watch what is going on, while you have the captions right in front of you." She hopes the technology will one day be in all theaters, churches, sporting events and even schools.

In fact, any PDA with a recent windows platform can handle it. West says, "We purposefully used all off-the-shelf technology, things you can buy at the store." A simple solution that will allow thousands of people to enjoy what the rest of us take for granted.

This hi-tech captioning system is simple and easy to carry around, weighing less than a pound. There's no word yet on the cost or how soon it will be on the market.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
1828 L Street, N.W., Suite 1202
Washington, D.C. 20036-5104
(202) 785-0017
ieeeusa@ieee.org
http://www.ieee.org



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