Engineers at the University of Washington have developed software that lets people use American Sign Language over a mobile phone in real time.

Presently, deaf people use cell phones to text message each other. “But the point is you want to be able to communicate in your native language,” project engineer Eve Riskin. “For deaf people that’s American Sign Language.”

Video is better than text-messaging because it’s quicker and better at conveying emotion, said Jessica DeWitt, a UW student who is deaf and is a collaborator on the MobileASL project. DeWitt says a large part of her communication involves facial expressions which can be transmitted over the video phones.

Sign language over cell phones already is possible in Sweden and Japan and will become a reality in North America as faster cellular networks become more common here, Riskin said, noting the UW team is in contact with a major cellular network provider interested in the project.