Facetop Overview
Introduction
The objective of the Facetop technology is to
enhance communication tools for deaf
computer users. Two situations where Facetop can be useful:
- Facetop can help a deaf audience
member of
a verbal course lecture or presentation to watch the interpreter and
take notes at the same time.
This
application of Facetop was suggested by a deaf UNC student.
- Facetop can enhance communication for two deaf people using video
conferencing while
also using
computer applications. In the situation with video conferencing,
Facetop might
also be
helpful to support collaboration between a deaf person and a hearing
person.
1. Facetop for Note
Taking in Lectures
Facetop for note taking is useful for a person using a
signing interpreter during a presentation, for example during a
classroom
lecture. The difficulty for the hard of hearing is to simultaneously
watch
the lecturer, watch the interpreter, look at presentation slides, and
take
notes. It is possible to look at only one at a time.
With Facetop, a person with a hearing impairment
can watch the interpreter and take notes at the same time. This
way she
has to switch her attention less often. To take notes the person would
use a
laptop.
The Facetop software displays the image of the interpreter on the
computer
screen next to the notes. The image of the interpreter is captured by a
webcam
connected to the laptop. Figure 1 illustrates the entire system.
Figure 1: Facetop
system for note taking
If the specific laptop is a Tablet PC, the user
can write
notes like on a piece of paper. The Tablet PC screen is folded so that
it is
like writing on a thick book. The notes can be saved to a file and be
read/
printed later or shared with someone else. Figure 2 shows the laptop
with the
image of a signing interpreter; through the window it is also possible
to see
the student’s notes.
Figure 2: Facetop
on a Tablet PC. Click images
to see a larger picture.
Using Facetop requires a Tablet PC with Windows
and a
webcam. It can be easily setup in any room given that the interpreter
is
illuminated and in the
view of the camera.
A UNC undergraduate Computer Science student with
a hearing
impairment originally had this idea for Facetop because of the
difficultly he
had taking notes in class.
2. Facetop for Collaboration
Between Two People Working
with Computers
A second use of Facetop is to enhance collaboration of two
people working at a computer. In this situation, Facetop is similar to
video
conferencing or a video relay system; two people can see each other and
sign. Video
systems are very good for letting people communicate. Facetop,
however, also
lets the collaborators use the video to work together on a computer
program.
Take, for example, two people playing checkers.
Figure 3 shows
the screen with the conventional video conferencing system. The people
see each
other on the screen. Both people also see the checkers game.
Figure 3:
Conventional video conferencing system for two people playing checkers.
Click
the image to see a larger picture.
With Facetop the players can use the video to point at parts
of the checkers board as shown in Figure 4. A computer
user can see through the video to see the desktop and applications. One
person
can point at a part of the checkers board and the other person sees it
too. Pointing
with a finger is more like a face-to-face communication.
Figure
4: Facetop computer interface with two people playing
checkers. Click the image to see a larger picture.
One of
the benefits of Facetop are that the computer users do
not have to
interrupt signing as much as before; no need to waste time to reach and
control
the mouse to point. Another benefit is that it
might be easier to
switch attention between the
video and checkers board because they are in the same area. With the
small
video window, one has to look back and forth between the video and
checkers.
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Part of my research is to see whether the Facetop
interface helps
a person with a hearing impairment and a hearing person work together,
i.e.
work together without knowing sign language and not having a
signing
interpreter. By pointing and gesturing a deaf/hearing pair can
communicate better than only through using the shared mouse and chat.
Of course, a complete communication system with
Facetop can
incorporate a signing interpreter. The video of the interpreter can be
viewed
on the computer screen.
Presentations
Dorian
Miller, March 11, 2006
