Viable Technologies' Remote Realtime Transcription Service

Communication access is a great barrier for the over 28 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States.   Systems currently in place are inefficient, expensive, and often inaccurate.   Viable Technologies, founded in 2001 by John TC Yeh, specializes in remote realtime transcription for the educational setting.   The Viable Realtime Transcription (VRT) service uses the latest in wireless cell phone, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), traditional land line, text-to-speech, and Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) technologies to provide the deaf and hard of hearing community the ability to communicate in a classroom setting.  

How does it work?

1. Speak into a microphone. The speaker speaks normally into a lapel microphone or an extra-sensitive microphone installed in the classroom. The microphone is connected to a telephone line, which transmits the audio to Viable Technologies' call center.

2. Captions are created. A qualified transcriber at Viable Technologies' call center creates captions of what the speaker is saying in realtime with shadow speech. With the appropriate materials and preparation, their transcribers can provide fast and accurate transcription.

3. Receive captions. The student receives captions almost simultaneously on a notebook computer connected to the Internet. The student can also scroll through previous realtime text while still viewing captions in realtime.

4. Download the transcript. The student can download the edited transcript within 24 hours. The transcript will greatly assist the student's ability to study information from lectures often not included in textbooks or other classroom materials.

For more information, please visit www.viabletechnologies.com or contact NCTI.