I’m deaf, and this is what happens when I get on a Zoom call

Deaf product designer Quinn Keast says working from home is a bonus for him--except when his Sourcegraph team chooses to connect through video. He writes:   

Lip-reading doesn’t work well over video, because lip-reading relies on a whole lot more visual information than just the lips, and video calls don’t carry the full visual and emotional bandwidth needed to read lips easily. So instead, I use a series of hacks or built-in tools to help me out by providing real-time speech-to-text. 

 

Read the full story about what the team did to try to accommodate Quinn here.

New Zoom Accessibility options

Zoom added some accessibility options today to its video-conference software that will help ASL interpreters. Users can now pin and spotlight multiple video screens at a time--that way someone signing can be pinned alongside the speaker so they are always in view. In the grid view, users can rearrange video windows so that the interpreter is on the screen wherever they want to see them. Jen Hill explains how to use the features in this video. 

Before video chat

"Talking to my parents on the phone in the days before Skype and FaceTime was a strange experience," Lauren Fitzpatrick writes. She says that while her relay service "seemed like cutting-edge technology in 2004, it was always awkward to end a conversation by saying 'I love you' to a stranger." Read the full story in the Boston Globe here.

New Video conferencing Option

There's a new option for visual communications. FuzeBox is a San Francisco-based startup selling high-definition video-conferencing applications. Gallaudet University is using it to let users sign with one other--every faculty member and student has a free account. FuzeBox allows up to a dozen people to meet through video conferencing and present video, photos and presentations. The service costs about $15 a month or $828 a year for Business (the Enterprise version is a custom package that requires special pricing). Since FuzeBox operates in the cloud there is no hardware and starting sessions is quick. Here's a video introduction.

Smartphone Holder

There's a new motion tracking dock that should make apps like FaceTime easier to use. Swivl works with iPhone or any smartphone that is less than 11 millimeters thick. The motorized camera stand follows a users movements, guided by an infrared marker on a wearable Bluetooth mic (which is included). It's a little pricey at $159. Here's a video showing how it works.

Swivl by Satarii from Satarii on Vimeo.

Rochester Gets new Video Conferencing Center

A new video conferencing center was unveiled yesterday at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) in Rochester. The equipment comes courtesy of California's Cisco Systems. The 14-seat room matches the audio and lighting in other TelePresence Centers. The donation, valued at $700,000, is specially designed to accommodate sign language interpreters. Engineers will use the system to study ways to have cameras focus, not just on the person speaking, but on a person signing. WHAM-TV has this short video report below on DeafNewsToday.com.

The ntouch VP Videophone

Sorenson Communications introduced a new version of its video relay service this week. The ntouch VP Videophone lets users use their computers or hook up to a television for phone conversations with an interpreter. Unlike the last version of the device, the new hardware includes a separate webcam-like camera along with better quality video. Plus, callers can leave messages and there is a ring of flashing lights that can blink in different patterns to identify the caller. A Sorenson relay operator is available to users or calls can be made directly if both parties have the videophone. Find out more here.

Google+ Video Chat

Google is launching a field test of its video chat with users fluent in ASL. The search giant expects "Hangouts" to be a hit with the deaf and hard of hearing because it allows for multiuser video chat. However, there could be a problem because Hangouts prioritizes the image of users who speak the loudest. It switches its focus based on their microphone input. The company is exploring how this will effect those using sign language and considering developing technology to look for other cues besides volume. The field test is spearheaded by Google Technical Program Manager for Accessibility Engineering Naomi Black and Engineering Director Chee Chew. Chew wrote on his Google+ page, "My grandfather, aunt, and uncle were/are all deaf. while I'm very much a novice, I find ASL to be a beautiful expressive language. I hope that hangouts can be awesome for the deaf & hh community as well as the hearing."