The FCC is launching a video program that will make it easier to communicate with government agencies using sign language. It's called Accessible Communications for Everyone or ACE. how it will work: an ASL-user will select who they want to chat with and they will be taken to a relay service. There will likely be some creative developments over time because the code is open source. ACE is not supposed to replace the systems already in place, just provide video relay to more people in more ways. The FCC already has an ASL support line last year-something you can expect from the EEOC and the Census Bureau soon. The ACE effort is a collaboration between Gallaudet University, the Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technology Institute of the Deaf, and TCS Associates. A beta version will be rolled out later this year and a final version expected by spring. Read more about it from the FCC here and there is a recent White House press release here. Below is a video introduction to VATRP which stands for Video Access Technology Reference Platform (VATRP). You can read more about VATRP here.
