New Deaf Phone

2004/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Komunikazioak

For people with hearing problems, a new tool has been created to be able to talk on the phone. So far there was a videophone and a testicle, but both had great drawbacks. But the new one is much easier to use. It is actually a computer program, called Synface, which combines knowledge of sounds with digital image. You only need a normal phone and a computer, and thanks to the computer program, the key can read what your friend tells you on the lips of the digital face that appears on the computer screen.

Between the sound and the movement of the lips there is only a recoil of 200 milliseconds, so it allows to communicate naturally. To achieve this synchronization, the program does not wait until the word ends; instead of recognizing the words, it recognizes the sounds and moves the lips according to those sounds. Therefore, it can be used in any language, to introduce new sounds it is only necessary to make small adaptations in the basic program.

The project ends in December, but the first tests have already been carried out with very good results. This is a project sponsored by the European Union and expected to be of great use to many. You can also include other apps, for example, to give notices at airports and stations via screens, PDAs and mobile phones.