Deaf Communicator

Johanna Oberneder

Deafness extensivly affects social contacts, educational and career opportunities. Deaf people are very often restricted in their communication possibilites, respectively dependent on sign language interpreters.
The callenge was to enable deaf people to communicate freely, to make their everyday lifes easier and to reduce dependency on hearing people.
The DeafCommunicator allows deaf people to make phone calls everywhere, with the use their first language (which - for most - is sign language) and virtually gives them a portable interpreter.
The basis are Relay Services: A sign language interpreter, with whom the deaf person communicates over a integrated camera, is displayed on the screen of the device. This interpreter calls the hearing contact of the deaf person and translates spoken word into sign language and the other way around.
Furthermore, a deaf person can hook up the interpreter to a direct communication in everyday life, (for example at the doctor´s, or in an office,...) and therefore the DeafCommunicator makes them independent in the daily contact with the hearing world.