:: networked_performance | MOBI ::

April 11, 2007 in Deaf, Gestuno, News, Technology, Video Phone, Video Relay Service, World

MOBI

From Networked Performance

MOBI (Mobile Operating Bi-directional Interface), by Graham Smith, is a human sized telepresence robot that users remotely control to move through distant environments, see through its camera eye, talk through its speakers and hear via its microphone ear. Simultaneously a life sized image of themselves is projected onto the robots LCD face, creating a robotic avatar. MOBI allows people to “explore far away art shows, attend distant presentations and make public appearences from anywhere on earth, thus helping to reduce air travel and reduce global warming”. MOBI is at DEAF 07.

Graham Smith is a leading expert in the fields of telepresence, virtual reality, videoconferencing and robotics. He has worked with leading Canadian high tech companies for more than 14 years, including Nortel, Vivid Effects, VPL, BNR and IMAX. Graham initiated and headed the Virtual Reality Artist Access Program at the world-renowned McLuhan Program at the University of Toronto, and has lectured internationally. He holds numerous patents in the field of telepresence and panoramic imaging, and was recognized in Macleans magazine as one of the top 100 Canadians to watch.

Technorati Tags:
Portable Video, Misc. Gadgets

:: RealGeek | Interactive video community ::

April 9, 2007 in ASL, Communication, Community, Deaf, Gestuno, Hard of Hearing, Interpreter, News, Sign Language, Technology, Video Relay Service

Interactive video community

Heard about Vlip yet?  the cool Interactive video community and online video service by SightSpeed.
SightSpeed is innovating into video calling and many other upcoming innovations, vlip is one of their effort to start Interactive video community. They have just added a new “ASL” category for deaf people who use the “American Sign Language” to communicate.
Sightspeed’s […] Continue

:: A Nice Gesture | XV Congreso Mundial de la WFD ::

April 5, 2007 in Community, Culture, Deadline, Deaf, Education, Film | Theatre, Gestuno, Hard of Hearing, Health, History | Heritage, Sign Language

XV Congreso Mundial de la WFD

The World Federation of the Deaf will be hosting their 15th World Congress in July 2007, Madrid.

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international non-governmental organisation comprising national associations of Deaf people. It watches over the interests of more than 74 million Deaf people worldwide -more than 80% of them live in developing countries.
The WFD was founded in 1951, during the First World Congress of the WFD, held in Rome. Such an early date makes the WFD one of the oldest international disability organisations in the world.
Currently, the WFD has a membership of 127 national associations from the five continents.

Here is a very nice video with avatars signing what I think is LSE (Lengua de signos o señas española, or Spanish Sign Language). Whoever made these animations did a very good job. Both manual and non-manual features are synthesized quite nicely. The message is about the (apparently succesfull) Spanish candidacy for the 2007 congress.