VOICE ACTIVATED DISPLAY OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE FOR AIRPORT SECURITY Glenn Lancaster, Karen Alkoby, Jeff Campen, Roymieco Carter, Mary Jo Davidson, Dan Ethridge, Jacob Furst, Damien Hinkle, Bret Kroll, Ryan Leyesa, Barbara Loeding, John McDonald, Nedjla Ougouag, Jerry Schnepp, Lori Smallwood, Prabhakar Srinivasan, Jorge Toro, Rosalee Wolfe School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems DePaul University Chicago, IL Email: asl@cs.depaul.edu, lancaster@cti.depaul.edu 1. Introduction Airport security procedures pose accessibility problems for the Deaf. These procedures have become more complex and intrusive as security measures have been reassessed. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)[1] and the Air Carriers Access Act (ACAA) [2] do specify accommodations that airlines must make. However, the requirements specified in these acts are minimal and do not help the Deaf in negotiating security checkpoints. There are many audible clues and spoken directions at security checkpoints to guide hearing passengers, but the Deaf currently do not get comparable visual clues or equivalent directions. This can result in adversarial misunderstandings when, for example, a deaf person fails to stop after an alarm sounds or fails to respond to a verbal command. At first glance it would seem that appropriately placed signs or monitors with printed English instructions would alleviate part of this problem similar to the original TTY device, developed by a deaf physicist Robert Weitbrecht. However, this assumes that the Deaf are fluent in English. ASL is not just signed English. Although it shares some vocabulary with English, ASL is a distinct natural language with a radically different grammar[5][3][4]. With English effectively their second language, Deaf adults in the United States have an average reading level between the third and fourth grade[6]. Even the strictest interpretation of ACAA regulations does not require airport personnel to be trained in ASL. Indeed, knowledge of ASL outside the Deaf community is rare[5] in spite of its being the fourth most commonly used language in the United States[7]. Airport personnel have also affirmed that having full-time interpreters available at security areas is not feasible due to the prohibitive cost.[8] For these reasons a synthetic English to ASL translation system would provide a feasible and more cost effective solution. However, until now no translation system has adequately addressed the problems. Previous systems use a word-for-word substitution which does not result in ASL.