Communication Access Realtime Translation: CART Services for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People

NARRATOR: Communication Access Realtime
Translation

also known as 'CART'

is available to deaf and
hard-of-hearing people

who seek an alternative to American Sign
Language interpreting - or ASL -

or reliance on assistive listening
devices.

CART is an advanced and accurate trans-
lation method that uses a human captioner

assisted by computer-based captioning
technology to transcribe

spoken dialogue word-for-word
into written sentences.

CART is widely used in a variety of educa-
tional, professional and personal settings

For example, here at the University of
Washington CART is often used

to enhance students' ability to learn
in a classroom setting

and communicate with instructors,
mentors, and peers.

CART provides realtime word-for-word
translation, transcribing

each word as it is being spoken.

At the University of Washington, I was
part of the first Summer Academy here.

D'WAYNE: What CART does, it just actually
types that exact word

and leaves it up to you whether
you know it or not.

Like, you can ask the question,
'what does that mean?'

or if you do know what that word means,
you're understanding what it's saying.

DWAYNE: If you have verbatim word-by-word

print right there in front of you, you're
able to understand more

and, like, have a lesser chance of
misinterpreting what they're saying.

NARRATOR: CART is noted for
it's accuracy, speed,

and wide variety of practical
applications.

These qualities enable CARTusers to follow
dialogue more efficiently and precisely.

JESSIE: CART has been very helpful, like
for example

in a really large classroom,
it can be very noisy

especially with everyone just talking all
at once.

So, CART has really helped me
understand my classmates

what they are talking about, a lot better.

NARRATOR: CART providers are able to
customize their services to accommodate

each user's needs and preferences.

Text font size and text color can be modi-
fied to fit each CART user's preference.

When working in a live setting
providers will try to

position themselves so that they can
clearly hear a speaker and

simultaneously watch the transcription
they are producing

in order to correct any mistakes.

There are different display options to
fit different settings, these include:

personal computer screens,
projection screens, television monitors,

and mobile devices.

If CART is being used in a group setting,
a larger display can be very beneficial.

In classroom or workplace situations where
a user

needs to follow and understand complex
vocabulary

CART can be very advantageous.

In certain settings, such as math and
science classrooms, CART's

word-for-word translation
is a useful resource.

NARRATOR: CART can be used in a
variety of settings and can be flexible

according to each user's needs.

CART technology allows it to be used in a
mobile setting

such as a tour or site visit.

This flexibility enables users to engage
in real-life situations

in which participation might otherwise
be challenging.

SPEAKER: So, I drew up my own peg on the
computer and printed it out.

NARRATOR: Upon approval, at the
end of a CART session

a written log of the transcription can
be sent to you and saved for studying

or record-keeping purposes.

NARRATOR: For ASL users, there are
different ways to utilize CART

in a classroom setting with other
hearing individuals or instructors.

If an ASL interpreter is not
available when using CART,

an option is to type replies on a
laptop computer for the CART

provider or your seatmate to voice.

CART can also be used in a teleconference
setting, allowing a user to join

a conference call using
a remote CART provider.

In this situation, the CART provider and
user both remotely join the conference

call and the user receives a live trans-
cription of the teleconference on their

internet-enabled computer.There are
other speech-to-text services available.

C-Print is a realtime speech-to-text
translation service.

It uses a meaning-for-meaning translation
system.

This allows it to summarize a large amount
of information very quickly.

TypeWell works in a similar
fashion to C-Print, providing

meaning-for-meaning transcription.

Both services can be useful
depending on the situation,

but do not provide word-for-word
transcription as CART does.

Automatic Speech Recognition, or ASR, uses

an electronic device to capture speech and
then internally translate it into text.

It promises to become an effective
independent translation source,

but at the present time variables such as
noise, pronunciation, pitch,

volume, and accents can disrupt
the automatic translation process

and make the transcript difficult to read.

CART and other similar transcription
services provide many benefits, including

equal communication access and
independence,

while fostering full participation in
a variety of settings.

Students, professionals, and others
that are deaf or hard-of-hearing

can benefit from the versatility and
comprehension offered by realtime

transcription services.

JESSIE: I really like CART, it is very
helpful, especially in really loud

and noisy environments, and especially
when your teacher or classmates are

talking very quickly.

Or if you cannot hear everything correctly
one-hundred percent of the time.

D'WAYNE: With CART, I'm able to be
active and be engaged

fully in whatever the subject is.