AWARDS & RECOGNITION
2002 Awards: Accessibility
RECIPIENT:
Wisconsin
Fast Transcription (Fastran) & Captioned Telephone (CapTel) Technology Trial: Providing Better Telecommunications Access to People with Disabilities
 |
| Jack R. Cassell and Patti Bannier |
The State of Wisconsin has implemented two innovative new technologies that dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of the Wisconsin Telecommunications Relay System (WTRS). The WTRS is contracted to Hamilton Telecommunications and serves the telecommunications needs of people who are deaf or hard of hearing and those they speak to on the telephone. As the first state to offer this innovative technology to relay users, Wisconsin is answering the Federal Communications Commission's charge of applying advanced technology to improve the lives of people with disabilities. The two technologies being tested in Wisconsin are Fastran (Fast Transcription) and CapTel (Captioned Telephone). Both technologies make use of voice recognition applications to dramatically improve both speed (from 30% to 200% faster) and accuracy (five times more accurate) over traditional telecommunication relay service performance. These new technologies not only improve relay performance and services to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but also the individuals and businesses in the state they communicate with.
| "Technology
has opened the door to unprecedented government access for Wisconsin
citizens. But technology should not discriminate, differentiate or
categorize. The benefits of technology must be realized by each and
every Wisconsin citizen. The Department of Electronic Government is
leading that charge, and I want to thank NASCIO for recognizing Wisconsin's
effort to improve government access for people with disabilities.
Technology should not only be an enabler, but also an equalizer."
Governor Scott McCallum, State of Wisconsin |
What makes Fastran unique is that TTY (text telephone) messages are generated by utilizing voice recognition technology. Most voice recognition applications have difficulty accurately translating a large number of voices - different accents, dialects, etc. With Fastran, the voice recognition computer is trained to just one voice, a Communication Assistant's (CA), and not for all the different voices involved in relay calls. Instead of trying to type what each caller says, the CA simply re-voices what is said. The transcription from voice to text is much faster than is possible with typing, and nearly simultaneous with the spoken conversation. The text messages are far more accurate, with no spelling mistakes or abbreviations needed. The person speaking does not hear the CA re-voicing the call to the voice recognition system, and the result is near-real time transcription of the call. When words or proper names come up that the computer does not recognize the CA simply types in the correct word and then continues re-voicing. A Fastran user uses a standard TTY and receives text up to 110 wpm (limited only by the TTY's communication protocol).
A CapTel user relies on special equipment, a captioned telephone, with
a built in display that allows the user to directly dial the party he
or she is calling, listen to that party speak, and simultaneously read
captions of the conversation on one standard telephone line. The CapTel
telephone is for those individuals who opt to use their own voice to communicate
during a telephone call as is often the case for users with residual hearing,
and late deafened adults. This telephone can receive captions at speeds
well above a TTY, with the average speed of trial calls at 145 wpm. The
CapTel set is not a TTY; rather it is a telephone which allows users to
have natural back and forth conversations with captioning support.
SECOND PLACE:
Illinois
Illinois
Web Accessibility Standards and Templates
THIRD PLACE:
Missouri
Information
Technology Accessibility for People with Disabilities
OTHER NOMINATIONS:
Click on the link to download program submission.
Arizona
Inter-Agency
Accessibility Working Group
Colorado
Information
Technology Accessibility for Colorado State Website
