Imagine being able to walk into any public venue -- whether it's a movie theater, museum or sports arena -- and easily receive personal captioning. Georgia Tech (GT) announced last month that it developed and licensed such a system. There's been lots of buzz about it - and rightly so -- but what the press fails to realize is that people have been working on this idea for a long time.

Back in the early 90s, WGBH Media Access Group tested prototypes to deliver captions to individual patrons in theaters. Because of this, the team at GT came to WGBH for assistance and advice when it began its development of the glasses and PDA based captioning. "WGBH was instrumental in helping at that early stage by providing test data to use in focus groups," says Mary Watkins, Outreach Director.

GT wasn't even the first group to ask WGBH for its input on this topic. For example, one small company - Personal Captioning Systems -- has been working on similar systems since the late 90s. GT is advancing the field with an influx of technology and resources.

This personal captioning system relies on wireless technology. WiFi-enabled PDAs and laptop computers can serve as receivers and displays, or patrons can use a micro display that plugs into a PDA and attaches to glasses or a headband, according to GT's press release. Captions can be pre-recorded or generated in real-time.

What's new about this system is that it can be used in any public venue willing to provide captioning. It's also customizable and handles multiple text streams, says Leanne West, GT Research Institute project director.

Unfortunately, there's a market penetration problem, as explained by Jack Peacock, chair and CEO of Peacock Communications Inc., which plans to sell the system infrastructure and consult with venues. Peacock describes the bottleneck in terms of XM Radio: "When they started, they had to create partnerships with content providers. Without the content, individuals had no reason to buy a radio and subscribe to a service. Once we get partnerships established with several venues and different types of venues, then individuals will see a reason to buy their own equipment and take it with them from venue to venue."

Like other technology, personal captioning will require advocacy to ensure its propagation. Generating the captioning itself is another challenge. Despite these obstacles, the buzz is right about one thing: this system will improve our lives by making the world more accessible.

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