Portable Device Enhances Deaf-Blind Communication Capabilities
Short Message Service (SMS) communication has advanced tremendously in recent years, but in many ways, it hasn't all been for the good. Although text messaging has added a new convenient way to communicate, it can lead to some pretty annoying social gaffes.
With the lack of an established etiquette, I've started to tire of SMS and often wonder if it's a good thing (especially since it causes me to impulsively make poor etiquette decisions myself). However, despite the view that SMS is an extreme annoyance, the technology can still be used to serve a higher purpose, as indicated by a recent article in the BBC News.
Apparently, a new portable device allows deaf-blind people to have face-to-face conversations via SMS. Dubbed The DeafBlind Communicator (DBC), the device consists of a Braille note-taker linked by Bluetooth to a mobile phone.
To have a conversation, the deaf-blind person can simply type a message into the device with the Braille note-taker; the device will then covert the message and send it to the screen of the mobile handset. The person responding can type a message back, which will then be converted for the deaf-blind individual in Braille.
The device can also be hooked up to a landline and be used to make phone calls via text relay service; it can also send text messages.
The device is pretty darn cool, and a great example of how technology can be used to bring us closer together, as opposed to further apart.
If you have time, be sure to check out the BBC News article. It contains a great video of the DBC in action in which a deaf-blind individual orders a beer.
(Note: I realize the first link in this blog may be somewhat of a shameless plug for my previous work, but it fit so well I just had to include it.)