Article: Signs of progress grow: Software links languages of deaf, hearing.

Byline: Jon Van

CHICAGO _ The first step toward developing a computing program that enables the deaf to "hear" has been created by computer scientists at DePaul University.

The project's urgency was underscored after a deaf computer scientist was nearly arrested by an airport security guard because of a failure to communicate. The frustrating episode led to a system where a hearing person speaks into a microphone attached to a computer running software that turns words into American Sign Language performed by an animated figure on the computer's screen.

Hence, a security guard could ask the system "show me your boarding pass" and a deaf person ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!