USER EXPERIENCES

“I get to use my own native language on the phone.” (A deaf person)

“The signing is understandable, even though the picture is small. It really works!” (An interpreter)

“A deaf person met me for an appointment today, and I got to experience mobile interpreting. It worked really well, and we got the job done!” (A hearing person) 

The most active deaf test users have dealt with several everyday situations using mobile interpreting during the test phase in the Turku area. Using mobile interpreting is easier if the user is already familiar with 3G video phones. If the technology is less familiar to the test user, initial training in mobile interpreting has been provided.

Feedback on interpreting experiences from hearing people has been positive across the board. The one aspect that was deemed challenging was the lack of direct interaction, since the deaf customer must follow the display intensively with the interpreter not physically present.

From interpreters’ perspective, mobile interpreting is functional on the whole and the experience was deemed positive. Interpreting using the new device initially requires some familiarisation and refining of one’s own signing practice, but the sign language interpreters who participated in the tests took a generally favourable view of mobile interpreting.